As the World Turns

As the World Turns (ATWT) is the second longest-running American television soap opera, airing each weekday on CBS.

Related Topics:
Television - Soap opera - CBS

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It debuted on Monday, April 2, 1956 at 1:30 in the afternoon. Before this show (and The Edge of Night, which premiered on the same day), all soaps were fifteen minutes in length; ATWT was the first half-hour serial.

Related Topics:
April 2 - 1956 - The Edge of Night

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At first, viewers did not respond to the new half-hour serial, but ratings picked up in its second year, eventually reaching the top spot in the daytime Nielsen ratings by the fall of 1958. In 1959, the show started a streak of weekly ratings wins that would not be interrupted for over twelve years. In the year-to-date ratings, As the World Turns was the most-watched daytime drama from 1958 until 1978, with ten million viewers tuning in each day. At its height, core actors such as Helen Wagner, Don MacLaughlin, Don Hastings and Eileen Fulton became nationally known. In the 1960s and 1970s, the show was spoofed on The Carol Burnett Show, in a skit called As the Stomach Turns.

Related Topics:
Nielsen ratings - 1958 - 1959 - 1978 - Helen Wagner - Don MacLaughlin - Don Hastings - Eileen Fulton - 1960s - 1970s - The Carol Burnett Show - As the Stomach Turns

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The show transitioned from black-and-white to color in the mid-1960s, with the final black-and-white episode airing on February 17, 1967. The show moved from a half-hour in length to one hour starting on December 1, 1975.

Related Topics:
1960s - February 17 - 1967 - December 1 - 1975

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The show has aired over 12,000 installments; the 10,000th episode aired on May 12, 1995.

Related Topics:
May 12 - 1995

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