NBC cancelled the Procter & Gamble-produced soap, which has suffered from low ratings in recent years. The peacock network needs to make room in its daytime schedule for its new daytime drama, Passions. The new daytime soap from James Reilly, former head writer of Days Of Our Lives, will begin airing on July 5, the network reports.
Meanwhile, another low-rated NBC soap, Sunset Beach, escaped the chopping block. The network picked up a six month option on the sudser, extending the program through the end of the year. (Important to note here is that AW is owned and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions as opposed to Beach which is produced by Spelling Entertainment in association with NBC studios. Also, just because AW was axed doesn't mean that Beach is safe from the threat of cancellation.)
Other changes in the NBC schedule include a new morning program, Later Today, which will air 9-10 a.m. EST and replace Leeza beginning in September. The show will be hosted by Today Show weekend anchor Jodi Applegate, and aims to capitalize on the substantial audience of The Today Show, according to a press release issued by NBC.
Days Of Our Lives, NBC's highest rated soap, will remain at 1 p.m. and will be followed by Passions.
NBC Entertainment President Scott Sassa said in a statement: "I thank all the people working on Another World for an incredible job at giving their audience an amazing 35 year run. It was a very tough decision. However, these changes allow us to take a major step toward putting our shows in pattern, which is critical to our success in this daypart."
Another World was the first serial to go to a one-hour format. It briefly aired for 90 minutes during its ratings heyday in 1979. Throughout the years, the soap has tackled such important topics as alcoholism, date rape, AIDS, manic depression and post-Vietnam stress disorder.
No word yet on how the show plans to wrap up the long-running sagas of the Corys, Hudsons and Carlinos of Bay City, Illinois. What also remains to be seen is whether P&G might shop AW around to syndicators or other networks. At first glance, that doesn't seem likely because of the soap's low ratings, but it does have a bevy of die-hard fans.
Meanwhile, with AW's talented cast, it's a safe bet that some actors might eventually pop up on other soaps after AW ends its run.
Click here for more on the cancellation.
By Meg McCaffrey
