mikemcguff.com: More on ABC's cancellation of All My Children and One Life to Live

When I was a kid, my mom watched All My Children. She had been watching off and on since the early days. Eventually, like many others, she stopped watching. Times are changing and so is the impact of soap operas.

After more than 40 years, All My Children will end September 2011 and The Chew will take a bite out of the time slot. One Life to Live will follow AMC's exit January 2012 and The Revolution will start. Here is part of the official ABC press release on the big daytime changes:

Guided by extensive research into what today’s daytime viewers want and the changing viewing patterns of the audience, ABC is evolving the face of daytime television with the launch of two new shows, “The Chew” which will premiere in September 2011 and “The Revolution” (working title) which will premiere in January 2012. These new shows expand ABC Daytime’s focus to include more programming that is informative and authentic and centers on transformation, food and lifestyle -- cornerstones of programming that resonates with daytime viewers as evidenced by the success of “The View.”

As food has become the center of everyone’s life, “The Chew,” will focus on food from EVERY angle - as a source of joy, health, family ritual, friendship, breaking news, dating, fitness, weight loss, travel adventures and life's moments. Produced by Gordon Elliot, the Emmy award winning executive producer of “Paula Deen’s Home Cooking” and “Down Home With The Neelys,” this new one hour series combines entertaining takeaway with memorable personalities to create a live show where viewers get the dish on anything and everything related to the world of food and beyond.

Whether it’s new trends like food trucks and urban gardens or how pesticides in our food may affect our health, we can’t stop talking about it. The hosts who will guide the hour include Mario Batali (Restauranteur, Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” and author); entertaining expert, Clinton Kelly (TLC’s “What Not To Wear”), Carla Hall (Bravo’s “Top Chef”); Michael Symon (Restauranteur and Food Network’s “Iron Chef America”) and nutrition expert Daphne Oz, who simplifies often confusing information about food.

From Executive Producer JD Roth and 3 Ball Productions, producers of “The Biggest Loser,” “Masterchef” and ABC’s upcoming “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition” comes “The Revolution,” a daily show about health and lifestyle transformations. The show is hosted by a team of experts and rotating guest contributors who help viewers transform all areas of their lives from relationships, to family, food, style, home design, finance and more. This dream team, led by fashion expert Tim Gunn, also includes celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak and American Idol alum Kimberley Locke. The show features a unique concept: each week one woman’s five-month weight loss journey will unfold in just five days, with daily results and a final transformational reveal on Friday. “The Revolution” is a one-stop shop for better living.

“While we are excited about our new shows and the shift in our business, I can’t help but recognize how bittersweet the change is,” said Brian Frons, President Daytime, Disney ABC Television Group . “We are taking this bold step to expand our business because viewers are looking for different types of programming these days. They are telling us there is room for informative, authentic and fun shows that are relatable, offer a wide variety of opinions and focus on ‘real life’ takeaways. A perfect example of this is ‘The View’ and that factored into our decision. ‘The Chew’ and ‘The Revolution’ are in the same vein and will be great additions to the line-up, with ‘The View’ serving as an ideal foundation from which to launch these programs. They will also provide enormous opportunity for the creation of ancillary businesses and growth.”

“General Hospital,” the second most popular show in daytime, is not impacted by this announcement and remains on the air.

To honor the core, passionate audience and their rich history with our soaps, “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” will conclude each series in a manner that respects their legacies and the longstanding hopes of many of their viewers.