ABC has announced it is canceling longtime soap operas “All My Children” (January 5, 1970 – Sept. 2011) and “One Life to Live” (July 15, 1968 – January 2012) and replacing them with chat shows with contradictory themes: one about food the other about wellness.
“The Chew,” will take over the “All My Children” timeslot in September. The food show will be produced by Gordon Elliott, an Australian who hosted his own talk show in the 1990s and will be hosted by, among others, Mario Batali (Food Network) and Clinton Kelly (TLC).
“The Revolution” will take over the “One Life to Live” slot in January 2012. The show about “health and lifestyle transformations” will be hosted by a team of experts led Tim Gunn.
“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, President, Daytime, Disney ABC/Television Group. “We are taking this bold step to expand our business because viewers are looking for different types of programming these days.”
As ABC holds on to the hours, rather than giving the time back to affiliates, this lessens the likelihood that a familiar TV news face, ie. Katie Couric or Anderson Cooper, would fit into the timeslots once occupied by Erica Kane and Viki Lord.
(Source: mediabistro.com/tvnewser)
