As the World Turns

'''''As the World Turns''''' (often abbreviated as '''''ATWT''''') is an American television [[soap opera]] that aired on [[CBS]] for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. [[Irna Phillips]] created ''As the World Turns'' as a [[sister show]] to her other soap opera ''[[Guiding Light]]''. With 13,763 hours of cumulative narrative, ''As the World Turns'' has the longest total running time of any television show. In terms of continuous run of production, ''As the World Turns'' at 54 years holds the fourth-longest run of any daytime network soap opera on American television, surpassed only by ''[[General Hospital]]'', ''[[Guiding Light]]'', and ''[[Days of Our Lives]]''.{{efn|By number of episodes. In terms of total duration, ''As the World Turns'' has run longer than ''Guiding Light'', at 13,763 hours, versus 3,940 hours and 30 minutes of ''Guiding Light''.{{cite web |url=http://ria.ru/infografika/20140730/1018153481.html |title=Бесконечная история. Сериал "Санта-Барбара" |publisher=[[RIA Novosti]] |language=ru |date=30 July 2014 |access-date=20 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503102615/http://ria.ru/infografika/20140730/1018153481.html |archive-date=3 May 2015 |url-status=live }}}} ''As the World Turns'' was produced for its first 43 years in [[Manhattan]] and in [[Brooklyn]] from 2000 until 2010.{{Cite web |quote = Since it was cancelled in 2010 after 56 years running, the record for the longest-running soap opera in the world goes to ''[[Coronation Street]]'', which began in 1960. |last = Krause | first = Lauren | title = New York on Film |work = About.com Travel |url=http://manhattan.about.com/od/artsandculture/a/newyorkfilm.htm |access-date = 2007-04-30 |publisher=[[About.com]]| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070404143909/http://manhattan.about.com/od/artsandculture/a/newyorkfilm.htm| archive-date= 4 April 2007 | url-status=live}}

'''''As the World Turns''''' (often abbreviated as '''''ATWT''''') is an American television [[soap opera]] that aired on [[CBS]] for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. [[Irna Phillips]] created ''As the World Turns'' as a [[sister show]] to her other soap opera ''[[Guiding Light]]''. With 13,763 hours of cumulative narrative, ''As the World Turns'' has the longest total running time of any television show. In terms of continuous run of production, ''As the World Turns'' at 54 years holds the fourth-longest run of any daytime network soap opera on American television, surpassed only by ''[[General Hospital]]'', ''[[Guiding Light]]'', and ''[[Days of Our Lives]]''.{{efn|By number of episodes. In terms of total duration, ''As the World Turns'' has run longer than ''Guiding Light'', at 13,763 hours, versus 3,940 hours and 30 minutes of ''Guiding Light''.{{cite web |url=http://ria.ru/infografika/20140730/1018153481.html |title=Бесконечная история. Сериал "Санта-Барбара" |publisher=[[RIA Novosti]] |language=ru |date=30 July 2014 |access-date=20 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503102615/http://ria.ru/infografika/20140730/1018153481.html |archive-date=3 May 2015 |url-status=live }}}} ''As the World Turns'' was produced for its first 43 years in [[Manhattan]] and in [[Brooklyn]] from 2000 until 2010.{{Cite web |quote = Since it was cancelled in 2010 after 56 years running, the record for the longest-running soap opera in the world goes to ''[[Coronation Street]]'', which began in 1960. |last = Krause | first = Lauren | title = New York on Film |work = About.com Travel |url=http://manhattan.about.com/od/artsandculture/a/newyorkfilm.htm |access-date = 2007-04-30 |publisher=[[About.com]]| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070404143909/http://manhattan.about.com/od/artsandculture/a/newyorkfilm.htm| archive-date= 4 April 2007 | url-status=live}}

Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, [[Illinois]], the show debuted on April 2, 1956,{{cite web| url=http://www.cbs.com/daytime/as_the_world_turns/about/?sec=4| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211093827/http://www.cbs.com/daytime/as_the_world_turns/about/?sec=4| archive-date=2009-02-11| title=About As the World Turns| website=CBS| access-date=2009-09-07}} at 1:30 pm [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]], airing as a 30-minute serial. Prior to that date, all serials had been 15 minutes in length. ''As the World Turns'' and ''[[The Edge of Night]]'', which premiered on the same day at 4:30 pm EST, were the first two to be 30 minutes in length from their premieres.{{cite web| last=Grant| first=Matthew| title=Daytime Soap Operas – Trivia| url=http://www.matthewgrantonline.com/Daytime_Soap_Opera_Trivia.html| access-date=2007-04-30| work=MatthewGrantOnline.com| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421110853/http://www.matthewgrantonline.com/Daytime_Soap_Opera_Trivia.html| archive-date=21 April 2007 | url-status=live}} At first, viewers were indifferent 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 fall 1958. In 1959, the show started a streak of weekly ratings wins that was not interrupted for over 12 years. The show switched to color on August 21, 1967, and expanded from a half hour in length to one hour daily starting on December 1, 1975, when ''The Edge of Night'' moved to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. In the year-to-date ratings, ''As the World Turns'' was the most-watched daytime drama from 1958 until 1978, with some 10 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. Wagner, Hastings, and Fulton are also three of [[List of longest-serving soap opera actors#Television|longest-serving actors]] in the history of American soap operas.

Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, [[Illinois]], the show debuted on April 2, 1956,{{cite web| url=http://www.cbs.com/daytime/as_the_world_turns/about/?sec=4| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211093827/http://www.cbs.com/daytime/as_the_world_turns/about/?sec=4| archive-date=2009-02-11| title=About As the World Turns| website=CBS| access-date=2009-09-07}} at 1:30 pm [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]], airing as a 30-minute serial. Prior to that date, all serials had been 15 minutes in length. ''As the World Turns'' and ''[[The Edge of Night]]'', which premiered on the same day at 4:30 pm EST, were the first two to be 30 minutes in length from their premieres.{{cite web| last=Grant| first=Matthew| title=Daytime Soap Operas – Trivia| url=http://www.matthewgrantonline.com/Daytime_Soap_Opera_Trivia.html| access-date=2007-04-30| work=MatthewGrantOnline.com| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421110853/http://www.matthewgrantonline.com/Daytime_Soap_Opera_Trivia.html| archive-date=21 April 2007 | url-status=live}} At first, viewers were indifferent 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 fall 1958. In 1959, the show started a streak of weekly ratings wins that was not interrupted for over 12 years. The show switched to color on August 21, 1967, and expanded from a half hour in length to one hour daily starting on December 1, 1975, when ''The Edge of Night'' moved to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. In the year-to-date ratings, ''As the World Turns'' was the most-watched daytime drama from 1958 until 1978, with some 10 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. Wagner, Hastings, and Fulton are also three of [[List of longest-serving soap opera actors#United States|longest-serving actors]] in the history of American soap operas.

The show passed its 10,000th episode on May 12, 1995, and celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 2, 2006. On September 18, 2009, ''As the World Turns'' became the last remaining [[Procter & Gamble#Radio and television production|Procter and Gamble]]-produced soap opera on television after ''[[Guiding Light]]'' had aired its finale three days earlier; it would hold this distinction until [[Beyond the Gates (TV series)|''Beyond the Gates'']] premiered on CBS on February 24, 2025.{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Errol |date=2025-02-16 |title=Procter & Gamble On Daytime Television Return: "We Invented the Soap Opera" |url=https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2025/02/procter-gamble-we-invented-the-soap-opera-beyond-the-gates |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Soap Opera Network |language=en-US}}

The show passed its 10,000th episode on May 12, 1995, and celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 2, 2006. On September 18, 2009, ''As the World Turns'' became the last remaining [[Procter & Gamble#Radio and television production|Procter and Gamble]]-produced soap opera on television after ''[[Guiding Light]]'' had aired its finale three days earlier; it would hold this distinction until [[Beyond the Gates (TV series)|''Beyond the Gates'']] premiered on CBS on February 24, 2025.{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Errol |date=2025-02-16 |title=Procter & Gamble On Daytime Television Return: "We Invented the Soap Opera" |url=https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2025/02/procter-gamble-we-invented-the-soap-opera-beyond-the-gates |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Soap Opera Network |language=en-US}}