Most kids of the 1990s grew up watching Zoog Disney and enjoying Nickelodeon’s heyday of “Rocket Power” and “Rugrats”. I, on the other hand, spent my time watching Dr. David Hayward control the city of Pine Valley with his malicious ability to blackmail someone at any moment’s notice. 

I watched the city of Llanview tackle Starr Manning going through the trials of teenage pregnancy. I also saw my fair share of serial killers (think “The Music Box Killer” and “Salem Stalker”), love stories gone wrong, Erica Kane temper tantrums, and a slew of multiple personality disorders.

Sadly, ABC announced today that soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live will be ending their runs this coming year.

The two iconic soap operas have graced the ABC Network for nearly four decades. All My Children first aired in 1970 and One Life to Live began two years earlier in 1968. Both shows have earned multiple Daytime Emmy Awards and have built-up extremely passionate fan bases.

One Life to Live veteran and star of ABC’s hit show, Castle, Nathan Fillion tweeted, “A moment of silence for a disappearing genre. OLTL & AMC, we’ll miss your hard work and talent.”

Fillion played the role of Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live and received a 1996 Daytime Emmy Award nomination in the ‘Outstanding Younger Actor’ category. He is one of many of today’s working actors who started their careers out in the imaginary cities of Llanview and Pine Valley.

The two iconic soap operas proved breeding grounds for some of today’s biggest stars. All My Children began the careers of names like Mischa Barton, Josh Duhamel, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Melissa Leo, Jesse McCartney, Kelly Ripa, Amanda Seyfried, Christian Slater, and Michelle Trachtenberg. One Life to Live gave actors like Marcia Cross, Nathan Fillion, Faith Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayden Panettiere, Ryan Phillipe, and Blair Underwood a place to grow. 

So what will replace iconic characters like Erica Kane and Viki Lord? ABC is launching two new daytime shows called The Chew and The Revolution, centering on food and healthy living. The final episode of All My Children will be airing this September while One Life to Live will be ending in January of 2012.

ABC announced that they will continue to air fellow soap opera, General Hospital. However, without its partners in crime, it is safe to say that the era of the ABC soaps is coming to a close. Daytime TV is about to get a little less dramatic.

 

Reach Jessica Benson here.