Guiding Light Canceled by CBS

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Guiding Light is coming to the end of a very successful run, as CBS announced that the soap opera was being canceled. That Guiding Light lasted so long without being canceled was a testament to the fans of the show, and a never ending stream of producers and actors that helped the show first make the transition from radio to television, and then to succeed for many more years as a daytime drama. Guiding Light episodes will continue to run on CBS until Friday, September 18th, when the final episode of Guiding Light is set to air.

The series finale of Guiding Light should be an interesting fare for the show, as they have gone through many different plot twists over the years, and not much is left reserved for an ending. Rather than take the typical soap opera route of leaving their fans with a cliff hanger, maybe Guiding Light will take the opportunity to finish out all of their possible storylines, and actually give their characters a proper send-off. Millions still tune in to watch the show on a daily basis, but it is rumored that the low ratings could be the main culprit behind pulling Guiding Light from the CBS daily rotation.

Originally known by the moniker The Guiding Light, the daily soap opera has been on the air since it debuted back in 1952. Taking place in the fictional Midwestern town of Springfield, the show had centered on a middle class family and all of their trials and tribulations.

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The family had of course seen plenty of ups and downs, but evolved into a wider spectrum of character involving many different families, connections, and evolutions to keep it both interesting and intriguing to new generations of viewers. It takes a lot to keep a show going for that length of time, and along with it has come many different actors and actresses that have been in more than 200 plus episodes apiece.

It is quite a remarkable achievement that Guiding Light lasted so long on television, and even if the ratings are down a little bit (about 2.17 million per episode according to Entertainment Weekly) that is still a lot of estimated viewers. It will surely go down in history as the longest running show to ever grace television, and outside of news programs, it has a record that will basically be cast in cement for all of eternity.

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It created history for CBS, and hopefully the network will send the show out with a lot of class and respect. As was noted, the final episode of Guiding Light will air on Friday, September 18th, 2009.