As the World Turns & Guiding Light

The Hollywood Reporter: "P&G Wants Out of Soaps"

The Hollywood Reporter's Roger Friedman posted a new online column on Guiding Light's demise basically claiming that P&G killed the soap on purpose.

P&G used to own several soaps. But they've wanted out of the business for a long time. Little by little, they've whittled their stable down to two shows. After GL is canceled, they'll just have As the World Turns.

One trick for not turning viewer anger into displaced resentment toward P&G brands like Crest and Pringles: Turn the fans against the show so they won't miss it. In the last few weeks, maybe thinking no one's watching, the "GL" producers have made the remaining episodes unwatchable. They've allowed the actors to use coarse language generally unsuitable to network TV. You can only imagine older fans wincing when they hear "pissed off" or "%*+$**+%%" uttered by their favorite characters.

If Friedman's claims are true it would certainly explain P&G's head-scratching penchant for recycling habitual soap slayers from one soap to another.