As the World Turns

Network: CBS
Episodes: 13,858 (1956-75: half-hour, 1976-2010: hour)
Seasons: 54

TV show dates: October 3, 1961 – September 17, 2010
Series status: Cancelled

Performers include: Helen Wagner, Maura West, Michael Park, Roger Howarth, Terri Colombino, Marie Wilson, Grayson McCouch, Jon Hensley, Kelley Menighan Hensley, Trent Dawson, Jennifer Landon, Jesse Lee Soffer, Ellen Dolan, Colleen Zenk Pinter, Van Hansis, Martha Byrne, Don Hastings, Mick Hazen, Elizabeth Hubbard, Austin Peck, Alexandra Chando, Marnie Schulenburg, Zach Roerig, Ewa Da Cruz, Mark Collier, Noelle Beck, Scott Holmes, Jennifer Ferrin, Julie Pinson, Jake Silbermann, Kathryn Hays, Jon Lindstrom, Marie Masters, Billy Magnussen, Elena Goode, Cady McClain, Kathleen Widdoes, Paolo Seganti, Meredith Hagner, Kin Shriner, Agim Kaba, Benjamin Hendrickson, Paul Leyden, Ashley Greiner, Allie Gorenc, Dylan Bluestone, Eileen Fulton, Scott Bryce, Terri Garber, Justine Cotsonas, Jordana Brewster, Dylan Bruce, Spencer Grammer, Jeffrey Meek, Daniel Manche, Chauntee Schuler, Hunt Block, Dylan Denton, Lesli Kay, Jordan Woolley, Napiera Groves, Tamara Tunie, Bailey Harkins, Jon Prescott, Jessica Dunphy, Jake Weary, Alyssa Diaz, and Ellery Capshaw.

TV show description:
The creation of Irna Phillips, this long-running soap opera takes place in the fictional community of Oakdale, Illinois. When the program began, it favored character development and psychological realism over melodrama. The stories move at the same pace as life itself, just as the world turns.

The show began revolving mainly around the upper middle-class Hughes family but over time has grown to focus on others as well. The self-made Stewart brood frequently clashes with the Hughes, both professionally and personally. The country Snyder clan has had its own share of entertaining clashes and successes as they mingle with the townies of Oakdale. Finally, the sophisticated and worldly Ryan family; a brood of flawed angels and devils whose passionate value of family often leads them into dangerous territory.

Despite the program’s reputation for being conservative, it was the first soap opera to have a regular character give birth to a child out of wedlock and to feature an openly gay character as a regular. The soap also became well known for its performers staying with the program for many years. Helen Wagner, who played matriarch Nancy Hughes in the first episode, played the role for almost the entire run of the series, until her death in May 2010.

Image courtesy CBS.

More about: As the World Turns

Newer and/or Related Articles