As the World Turns 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. Running for 54 years, As the World Turns holds the fourth-longest continuous run of any daytime network soap opera on American television, surpassed only by General Hospital, Guiding Light, and Days of Our Lives. As the World Turns was produced for its first 43 years in Manhattan and in Brooklyn from 2000 until 2010. Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois, the show debuted on April 2, 1956, at 1:30 p.m. 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 p.m. EST, were the first two to be 30 minutes in length from their premieres.
| Genre | Soap opera |
| Created by | Irna Phillips |
| Written by | Jean Passanante and Lloyd Gold |
| Directed by | See below |
| Starring | Series cast |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 54 |
| No. of episodes | 13,858 |
| Executive producer(s) | Ted Corday (1956–65), Mary Harris (1965–71), Fred Bartholomew (1971–73, 1980–81), Joe Willmore (1973–78), Joe Rothenberger (1978–80), Mary-Ellis Bunim (1981–84), Robert Calhoun (1984–88), Laurence Caso (1988–95), John Valente (1995–96), Felicia Minei Behr (1996–99), Christopher Goutman (1999–2010) |
| Producer(s) | See below |
| Running time | 30 minutes (1956–75), 60 minutes (1975–2010) |
| Production company(s) | Procter & Gamble Productions, Inc. (1956–2008), TeleNext Media, Inc. (2008–10) |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | NTSC |
| Audio format | Mono (1956–87), Stereo, CBS StereoSound (1987–97), Digital Stereo (1997–2010) |
| Followed by | Our Private World |
| Related shows | Another World, The Brighter Day, Guiding Light, The Young and the Restless |
About As the World Turns
Created as a companion to Guiding Light, the show was a slow-moving character study of the people in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois.
Achievement of As the World Turns
Marked the second longest running soap opera at 54 years, it was the most watched daytime drama between 1958 to 1978. It was named Outstanding Daytime Drama Series by the Daytime Emmys in 1987, 1991, 2001, and 2003.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About As the World Turns
As the World Turns Category.. History of As the World Turns - As the World Turns is a long-running soap opera television series that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Its fictional world has a long and involved history.. Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series winners.. Television series by Procter & Gamble Productions.. Television series created by Irna Phillips.. Television shows set in Illinois.. American television soap operas.. 2000s American drama television series.
Latest information about As the World Turns updated on July 28 2021.
