CBS may soon decide to pull the plug on “Guiding Light,” the longest-running daytime drama in television history.

While no final decision has been made, the network’s deal for the Procter & Gamble-produced drama—the least watched of the eight daytime serials currently on the air—ends in September. But if CBS does drop “Guiding Light,” it likely would lock in a decision within the next month, people familiar with the matter said. That would give writers a chance to tie up storylines.

CBS also would need to finalize new programming for the daytime hour that “Guiding Light” would be vacating.

In the most significant indication that the network is seriously pondering life without “Guiding Light,” CBS has been talking to outside studios about potential replacement programming for the show, sources said.

Possibilities under discussion include both game shows and talk shows. CBS could easily cut its programming costs for the hour in half by switching away from a scripted drama.
Representatives for CBS and P&G declined comment.

In addition to contracting with an outside studio for programming to replace “Light,” CBS daytime chief Barbara Bloom has been developing possible in-house candidates for the soap opera’s slot.

CBS executives are taking their time deciding the fate of “Light,” which has survived more than 70 years on radio and television. P&G also produces the CBS soap “As the World Turns.”

Nonetheless, a decision by CBS to end “Light’s” run on the network wouldn’t be a surprise.

The serial has been the subject of cancellation rumors for the better part of a decade. Those rumors became particularly intense within the past 18 months, but P&G threw something of a Hail Mary pass last year when it implemented a radical reworking of “Light’s” production model.

On Feb. 29, 2008, the show ditched its traditional storytelling style in favor of a lower-cost model that also was intended to give the show a more realistic, less staged feel. Around the same time, CBS renewed “Light” for the current season, retaining an option for an additional season.

Ratings for the show haven’t improved since the switch. “Light” is averaging a 0.9 rating among women 18-49 and a 1.6 household rating, according to Nielsen. Season-to-date, it’s averaging 2.17 million viewers and a 0.9 rating in women 18-49; season-to-season, it’s down 18% in viewers and down 25% in the demographic.

“Light” began life as a radio soap opera, moving to CBS television.

Moving to the Web?

It’s possible P&G or CBS could attempt to keep the show alive in some form on the Internet, though doing so likely would require another radical reinvention of its production model.

Much of the daytime drama business is struggling, with ratings for most soaps down significantly over the past decade. NBC is down to one soap, “Days of Our Lives,” following the decision to dump “Passions” in 2007 (the show survived one more season on DirecTV).

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/cbs_shopping_for_light_replace.php

Another one may bite the dust. Wow...

very sad. I used to be a big fan of this show. I remember watching it with my Mom when I was younger and I continued watching up until around 1998. It premiered on radio the same year my Mom was born. It really is an institution.

Because of its long history it would be sad if CBS cancelled GL, but for the last two years the show has been a shadow of its former self. Its barely watchable and everything they have done has not worked.

One of my favorite storylines was Kelly Nelson/Morgan Richards back in the summer of 1980. Good show--sorry to see it go but it is even sorrier to see it now--looks awful!

Just sad it had to come to this...:(

One of my favorite storylines was Kelly Nelson/Morgan Richards back in the summer of 1980. Good show--sorry to see it go but it is even sorrier to see it now--looks awful!



It is, and at one time this was such a great soap. At least Michael Zaslow isnt alive to see how far down GL has gone.

It is, and at one time this was such a great soap. At least Michael Zaslow isnt alive to see how far down GL has gone.
He was one of my favorite actors. I stopped watching GL after they fired him.

I know fans would be upset if CBS Pulls The Plug on Guiding Light.

I don't think GL is that bad. It is a bit better than Days of Our Lives.

Long-running serial ends run on Sept. 18

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001982.html?categoryId=14&cs=1

After 72 years and more than 15,700 episodes, “Guiding Light” will shine no more.
CBS informed the show’s cast and crew Wednesday that the long-running serial will be broadcast for the last time on Friday, Sept. 18.

Show’s demise reps the latest downsize to hit the once-vibrant daytime soap genre. “Guiding” consistently ranks at the bottom of the daytime ratings, and its demise itsn’t a complete surprise.

In a last-ditch effort to bolster the show’s sagging viewership, CBS and producer TeleNext Media completely changed “Guiding Light’s” look and feel last year - taking the show outdoors, and using guerilla-style filmmaking (hand-held cameras, simultaneous digital editing and on-location shoots in Peapack, N.J.) to set the show apart.

The alterations only upset “Guiding Light’s” loyal but dwindling stable of fans. The show this season reps the smallest numbers on broadcast in daytime, averaging 2.2 million viewers, as well as a 1.1 rating/6 share with women 25-54 and a 0.9 rating/5 share with women 18-49.

CBS hasn’t announced how it will fill the “GL” spot, but TVWeek reported this week that fare such as game shows or talk shows are being considered. With one less sudser, that means only seven now remain on the nets: Three on ABC and CBS, and one on NBC.

“‘Guiding Light’ has achieved a piece of television history that will never be matched,” said Nancy Tellem, President, CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group. “It has crossed mediums, adapted its stories to decades of social change and woven its way through generations of audiences like no other.”

Sudser, created by Irna Phillips, launched on NBC radio as a 15-minute daily serial in January 1937; it moved to CBS Television as a 15-minute series in 1952. The radio show continued concurrently until 1956, while the TV version was expanded to 30 minutes in 1968 and a full hour in 1977.

“Guiding Light” has won 69 Daytime Emmys through the years - including three for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series. The Guinness Book of World Records calls it the longest-running TV drama - a designation that will now fall to “As the World Turns” beginning next fall.

“Being on the air for more than seven decades is truly remarkable, and it will be difficult for all of us at the show to say goodbye,” said exec producer Ellen Wheeler.

David Kreizman, Christopher Dunn, Lloyd Gold and Jill Lorie Hurst serve as head writers on the show.

“No show in daytime or prime time, or anytime, has touched so many millions of viewers across so many years as Guiding Light,” said Barbara Bloom, senior vice president of daytime programs at CBS.

I wonder what could take Guidiung Light Time Period at 2:00 pm CT Time on CBS

That's awful, but not shocking. I just wish it would have happened to Days first. I know GL took a huge hit losing Beth Ehlers and Ricky Paull Goldin, but I didn't think things were this bad. I'm sure all soaps will be gone within 5-10 years, and that's being generous.

I bet CBS does what NBC did when NBC cancelled Sunset Beach NBC gave the 2:00 pm CT Time Time to Local Station's for example WDSU airs The Doctors at 2:00 pm CT Time

Very sad. :( Like I said, GL holds alot of great memories for me. At one time during the '80's and '90's, I was really addicted to the show. They lost a lot of great characters through the years though and these younger actors couldn't replace the older ones. I remember when H.B. and Henry died. Those two were really the guiding Light of the show. And the Bauers were slowly written out...I don't understand that. Rick was the only one left. As I said the biggest loss in my opinion was Michael Zaslow. GL could not find a good villian to replace Roger Thorpe and replacing him with another actor never worked. Maybe it's best that it does end before it falls any further.

It's just sad. So sad. The show was an institution for so many people over the years. 72 years. 72! That's older than me, my father, and my grandmother, and we were all viewers. I can only think of the many, many people across the country who have watched the show for 20, 30, 40, 50 years, or even listened to it before then. What are they going to do now that such a big, constant part of their lives is gone?

Non-soap fans wouldn't get it, but that's okay. It's just something really, really special, and "The Guiding Light" deserves to end with dignity, grace, and, the most important, inspiration.

This is truly sad news. It really is the death knell to all soaps, in my opinion. If a show with such a rich and incredibly long tradition as Guiding Light goes off the air, then I truly feel that it will only be a matter of time before the rest of the remaining daytime dramas will go the way of the dinosaur as well. I just can't believe that this is how the uniquely American tradition of the continuing daytime drama meets its end... with a dull thud. Americans didn't invent the drama (the Greeks did and Shakespeare perfected it) but it was here that saw the rise of the medium, first in radio "soap operas" and then onto television. Since that time, the "soap" spread into Prime Time with great success (Dallas, Dynasty) and the format became popular in practically every country around the globe, many countries producing their own soaps, such as the UK's EastEnders and Coronation Street to Australia's Neighbours. Mexico lead a revolution of novelas, their version of our soap operas, that lasted mere months instead of many years.

It's difficult to imagine how quickly the fall came: from the 1980s when many soap opera stories became part of the popular culture (such as Luke & Laura from General Hospital) to being a mere side-thought to the daytime programmers. I guess the decline truly started back in the mid-1990s when the O.J. Simpson trial pre-empted most soap operas for months at a time. The ratings never recovered. Add today's bad economy and eroding viewership and you have the perfect recipe for cancellation.

When the Guiding Light of daytime dramas goes dark in September, it will certainly cast a dark shadow on the few remaining soaps, as their viewership continues to decline each year as well. Such a sad day... :( I know I'll miss the escapades of Reva and Josh, the Spaulding and Bauer families and the township of Springfield...

This is truly sad news. It really is the death knell to all soaps, in my opinion. If a show with such a rich and incredibly long tradition as Guiding Light goes off the air, then I truly feel that it will only be a matter of time before the rest of the remaining daytime dramas will go the way of the dinosaur as well. I just can't believe that this is how the uniquely American tradition of the continuing daytime drama meets its end... with a dull thud. Americans didn't invent the drama (the Greeks did and Shakespeare perfected it) but it was here that saw the rise of the medium, first in radio "soap operas" and then onto television. Since that time, the "soap" spread into Prime Time with great success (Dallas, Dynasty) and the format became popular in practically every country around the globe, many countries producing their own soaps, such as the UK's EastEnders and Coronation Street to Australia's Neighbours. Mexico lead a revolution of novelas, their version of our soap operas, that lasted mere months instead of many years.

It's difficult to imagine how quickly the fall came: from the 1980s when many soap opera stories became part of the popular culture (such as Luke & Laura from General Hospital) to being a mere side-thought to the daytime programmers. I guess the decline truly started back in the mid-1990s when the O.J. Simpson trial pre-empted most soap operas for months at a time. The ratings never recovered. Add today's bad economy and eroding viewership and you have the perfect recipe for cancellation.

When the Guiding Light of daytime dramas goes dark in September, it will certainly cast a dark shadow on the few remaining soaps, as their viewership continues to decline each year as well. Such a sad day... :( I know I'll miss the escapades of Reva and Josh, the Spaulding and Bauer families and the township of Springfield...
I hope they have enough time to end the show right. They should have a bunch of the old cast come back so fans can say goodbye.

Wow this is sad indeed. The last two years GL has been a major dissapointment in my book, but this show has so much history and now its going to be gone after 72 years. No show I dont think will last that long ever.

Even though I have been less than pleased with the story lines, I will still miss the show.


I agree with Clint, it would be nice to see several former cast members to make returns before the show goes away forever.

A few pictures through the years.

Guiding Light Debuted on Janurary 25, 1937 First on NBC Radio

Wow--I have watched this show since I was a tyke. But we kinda suspected the end was near.....at least this gives the writers time to do a proper send off. My mom and her mom listened to it on the radio.
Truly the end of an era.......and it is only time before ATWT joins it.

A few pictures through the years.
Awesome pictures, especially the one of Meta (Ellen Demming) and Bert (Charita Bauer). So typical of 50s-era GL, and 50s-era daytime drama as a whole, and I love it.

I'm going to be committing some serious YouTube abuse over the next couple of months. There's a gigantic goldmine of GL episodes from all eras on there, and there are many, many radio episodes online too. No time like the present for me to try to get through them all. GL deserves nothing less!

Here's a quick trip through the history of GL's theme music and credits. The show changed its opening sequence quite frequently...sometimes after only two or three years.

1. The first opening was used from 1952 to 1953, and as far as I know, there aren't any surviving episodes that feature it at all, anywhere. From all accounts I've read, it basically featured a drawing of a lighthouse, thus beginning GL's long, long use of the lighthouse as its symbol.

2. This one ran from 1953 to 1955. It had a drawing of morning sunlight bursting through the clouds. The music used here is the music that was used on the show until 1967 (change to color); it had been used since the late 1940s on radio. It's an organ adaption of "Romance," a movement of Polish violinist Henryk Wieniawski's Violin Concerto #2 in D Minor, first written in the 1850s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oiocb6toqu8 (1953-1955)

3. This was used for a year, 1955-1956, and brings back the lighthouse. Its beam of light shines on a twilight-covered sea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm-Mv6rxWmg (1955-1956)

4. This opening was the longest-running of the black-and-white openings; it was around for 11 years (1956-1967). It's rather plain, just a spotlight beam against a black background.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcmC5tDuQ2s (1956-1967)

5. The next one was around from 1967 to 1970, but no video copies, or even screencaps of it, have surfaced at all. It basically changed everyday, featuring a very, very close freeze frame of a different character each day, with a very, very dramatic look on his or her face. The title just appeared in small letters in the corner. The music changed during this era to an unnamed piece by John Gart (who had also done the theme to "Love of Life"), another organ piece, but more of a waltzy tune.

6. In 1970, the lighthouse returned. It was against a very pretty blue sky. There was new music again, this time an organ piece called "La Lumiere" (which translates, from French, into "The Light"), written by Charles Paul. There are episodes that exist with this opening, as it has been seen in retrospectives, and there are screencaps of it, but there isn't any video of it online. In 1974, it changed to a different lighthouse against an orange-ish sky. The music was kept, but the organ arrangement was replaced with an orchestral version. There isn't any video online, but here are the closing credits from this era...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKYcARcAEU (1974-1975 close)

7. New visuals and music came in 1975. It was rather simple...a looking-up shot of some trees, with the sun coming through. The music was a very mellow string piece called Ritournelle, written by Charles Paul. The music had some re-arrangements, including a version with an opera singer singing the melody of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu_l1cW1Ank (1975-1981)

8. And here comes the big, big change. In the early 1980s, all of the soaps decided to be all hip and young, and so the music and intros reflected that, especially for the Proctor and Gamble soaps, and GL was no exception. The music was a fast-paced disco/rock song called "Guided Lightning," written by prolific soap composer Jack Urbont ("One Life to Live" and "General Hospital"). The montage it accompanied featured action-packed clips from the show. Most of the clips had a form of light involved...fire, candles, disco balls, police sirens, etc. Ran from 1981 to 1983.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez3-JJJM40U (1981-1983)

9. That opening was a little too fast-paced for some viewers, so they slowed it down a bit. They kept the visuals, but toned down the action element, featuring the more tender parts of the show. Also, the lighthouse returns in grand form (followed by a shot of the beloved Bertha Bauer!). The music here is a new piece by Rob Mounsey called "My Guiding Light." It, and the visuals, went through some changes: from 1983 to 1985, the visuals basically continued in the previous style, but with the dramatic pop music of "My Guiding Light." From 1985 to 1986, the visuals continued, but with a more synthesized version of the song. From 1986 to 1989, the visuals slightly changed so that all of the golden abstract shots (and the logo) were now blue/purple. The music also changed to a faster, "dance"-style arrangement. From 1989 to December 1990, the blue/purple stayed, but the music was changed to a more dramatic version similar to the 1985 arrangement. Here are all versions of this simple, but iconic, opening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0MgjMqIvzU (1983-1985)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3vcWZSA9lM (1985-1986)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ShIjrLSfCY (1986-1989)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRt4cHkOGXs (1989-1990)

10. Here comes another long-running fan favorite, the perfect combination of music and visuals. The new visuals, from January 1991, featured a lighthouse's beam going around the night sky. It goes around a few times, and then it comes around and shows a vibrant montage of circular-framed clips from the show, all contained it the lighthouse beam. The montage ends with a colorful display of the show's title, and then with the show's title over the lighthouse. The music, "Hold on to Love," was again written by Rob Mounsey. It was a very majestic piece with a solo horn lead over a dramatic string backing. In 1995, a slowed-down, jazzier version of the song was used, which was replaced with basically the original arrangement, only using an electric guitar instead of horn. In 1997, the opening was drastically cut short, as the entire clip montage was taken out. Here are all versions of the "Hold on to Love."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd12Dfit_yM (1991-1995)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB4ZwnYkrQw (1995-1996)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDAA2yBSZWk (1996-1997)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tip-lmQA13o (1997-2002)

11. The opening was redone in 2002, just in time for the TV show's 50th anniversary, with a style very similar to the original "Hold on to Love" opening. It basically had the lighthouse beam spinning around, but instead of show clips filling the entire screen, it had the cast members in posed video shots in small "Life Saver"-looking circles, similar to the circles used in the previous opening. The music continued to be majestic, this time a theme simply called "Fifty Years on TV," written by Brian Siewart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biwL62dve74 (2002-2003)

12. Um...yeah. This total monstrosity replaced the gorgeous 2002 opening. It's...well...it's clips from the show in narrow screens scrolling across a black background...with um...the show's title superimposed in transparent letters...and that's basically it. The music is nice..."True Light," by the late Rick Rhodes. Notice, no lighthouse. Not even a logo. It was cool, though, how the last clip of the opening was always the first scene of the show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-mlfmM6OLc (2003-2005)

13. This is a pretty improvement. Used through the end of 2006, it basically featured a mix of show clips and posed shots of cast members in a nice, pretty crossfade montage. The lighthouse returns, and the new music is an untitled piano rock song. It beings to emphasize that "Guiding Light" is also "GL." Two versions were made, each with a different set of characters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cf2fOvRpj8 (2005-2006, "Harley" version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ki2NKk4fno (2005-2006, "Reva" version)

14. This was used throughout 2007 and the two months of 2008. It was a short sequence of hands joining together as voices list the main themes of the show and also narrate the verses originally written by creator Irna Phillips. It was used in conjunction with the 70th anniversary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ZnbeCcIbY (2007-2008)

15. This opening premiered on Leap Day 2008 with the new "look" of the show. It emphasizes the location footage of the show, showing Springfield as a middle class town. Characters are also seen, alongside images of footballs, graduation caps, and other "small town" symbols. The music is called "Only Love" and is performed by Katie Mac. The opening changes from day to day, featuring characters who are in that day's episode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwDbLNep38Q (2008-2009)


RIP, old girl, you were one of a kind!

Whatever they choose to replace Guiding Light with, I'd like to think that it won't last as long as GL did. This is sad, depressing news.
The number of people who will lose their jobs just with this cancellation is depressing to think about in this day of millions losing their jobs.
The programs they're replacing soaps with are not something I like to watch.
It's kind of like what TV Land has become...a shadow of its former self.
This post is kind of rambling...sorry about that. :(

:eek2: This is truly the beginning of the end for soaps.

Wow--I have watched this show since I was a tyke. But we kinda suspected the end was near.....at least this gives the writers time to do a proper send off. My mom and her mom listened to it on the radio.
Truly the end of an era.......and it is only time before ATWT joins it.
Not only do I have memories of watching this show but my earliest memories are of me playing with my toys in the living room while the soaps were playing on our tv. My Mom liked the CBS soaps back then so I remember Search For Tomorrow, ATWT, the Secret Storm, and GL playing on our tv. I remember watching all those cheesy commercials they used to have while they aired like Mr. Whipple and the Charmin ad. For some reason, I always found him entertaining. lol Oh well, It's just another part of our TV heritage that is ending.. It really is an end of an era and I agree that ATWT will probably be next.

Do you all think Josh and Reva will end up together for good as the series ends?

Do you all think Josh and Reva will end up together for good as the series ends?
Oh, I hope so. CBS/P&G just need to throw ratings out the window and do this right. They have a few months to do it right, and they should be on it to get it done. They're going to try to keep it around in some other form, but IMO, that's just going to take away from planning the show's end, because if any deals to keep it going fall through...they're going to be wasting time that could have been spent tying up these last 72 years.

My dream is for CBS to air the final episode in primetime as well as daytime like they did for Bob's last episode of TPIR.

This is the 2nd P&G soap to get the ax in 10 years (after AW), and the 5th daytime soap altogether to get the ax in 10 years. AW, Sunset Beach, Port Charles, Passions and now Guiding Light. Sad, sad, sad. :(

Do you all think Josh and Reva will end up together for good as the series ends?
I hope they do. I haven't watched the show in a decade so I'm not sure what all the characters are doing now. Once in a while if I'm home, I'll turn it on just for old times sakes but the only ones I'm really interested in are the old characters. I don't like that new reality feel they did with the show though. It makes me dizzy. lol

Thanks for all those YouTube clips, JT!!! Bless YouTube! :)

I hope Josh & Reva end up together at the very end... it's only fitting! :(

Oldest TV Show To End -- Maybe
2 April 2009 2:34 AM, PDT

CBS made it official Wednesday: it is switching off Guiding Light in September.

The show is not only the longest-running soap opera, it like the longest-running program of any sort in the history of broadcasting. It was launched on radio (as The Guiding Light) in January 1937, then moved to television in 1952.

In its lifetime, it won 69 Daytime Emmys.

CBS did not announce a replacement, but TVWeek reported that the network is likely to air a new version of the game show The $25,000 Pyramid, a show that originated as The $10,000 Pyramid in 1973, in its time slot.

The trade publication said that CBS is also considering programs that could be produced in-house.

Meanwhile, Brian T. Cahill, head of TeleNext Media (formerly Procter and Gamble Productions), which produces the show, indicated Wednesday that Guiding Light may still stay one. He said that his company is "working hard to find the show a new home."

-IMDB News

This page has a lot of photos of some famous people who passed through GL through the years.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-04-02/before-they-were-stars

:( <====================== is the only thing left I think I can offer to this thread.


Yes there are some great GL clips on Youtbe when the soap was so good.

I had no idea that The Guiding Light was being cancelled after 57 television seasons. In 2013, with Guiding Light cancelled, As the World Turns may break the record for the longest-running television soap opera. With five months before the series ends, that should give the series enough time to wrap up all its storylined and be brought closure.