ABC Daytime’s Soap Operas: What Will Replace All My Children and One Life to Live?

All My Children is set to end in September 2011, while One Life to Live is scheduled to permanently fade to black in January 2012. The fans have been creating online posts ranging from refusing to watch the replacements to refusing to watch anything ever again on ABC. But what are the new planned programs?

It was announced today that The Revolution is going to replace One Life to Live as a part of the new ABC Daytime line up of programming. ABC has made a bigger commitment to the show beyond the usual 13 episodes that new shows are given to prove that they will be successful. The Revolution actually started filming six months ago. It’s a reality show focusing on one woman’s attempt to lose weight that’s produced by J. D. Roth. Roth has stated publicly that he is sympathetic to the fans, but his words are falling on deaf ears. There is nothing that can be said that will get soap fans to watch his program.

All My Children’s replacement will be a cooking show, but no other details are known at this time.

It’s fair to say that the ratings are going to be a record-breaking LOW on both new shows. It’s reported that The Talk, which replaced a cancelled soap opera on another network has approximately 20% less viewers than the show it replaced. However, networks don’t seem phased by this, and it is probably because they are still profiting since talk shows cost substantially less to make.

But what about what viewers want? ABC doesn’t seem to care. The people who watch soap operas are looking for an escape, and thus wouldn’t be interested in reality television shows. As many people are posting online, if they wanted reality they’d switch off the television and live their own lives.

The determined fans want to know if there is any chance that the cancellation won’t happen. ABC admits that offers will be considered from other networks for the two canceled soaps. So far, OWN and Hallmark networks have both declined. Those two weren’t a great fit anyway. But what network would be? Fans have been discussing the cancellation at imdb.com on the individual shows’ message boards, and Lifetime and their sister channel LMN are both viable suggestions.

Letter writing campaigns can be successful, and writing to these networks to ask that they carry the ABC cancelled soaps might help. Fans are hoping for some of the One Life to Live and All My Children characters to appear on General Hospital even if it’s only a cameo appearance. This is more probable with the All My Children actors since both All My Children and General Hospital are made in California. Whatever the fans ask for, the efforts have to be consolidated and request the same thing. A split effort to save one or both soaps, or a goal to have a couple characters from one cancelled soap move to GeneralHospital won’t be as effective.

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