Though All My Children is set to continue online (and possibly on cable), the fact that it is leaving network television after more than 40 years is still reason for pause.

Several castmembers from the show’s past will be returning before the TV series leaves ABC next month. Now, the soap’s creator, Agnes Nixon, is set to come back as well. She’ll reprise her role as Pine Valley Hospital board member Agnes Eckhart. Nixon has appeared on her soap several times and first played Eckhart (Nixon’s maiden name) for the show’s 35th anniversary in 2005.

SHOW CREATOR AGNES NIXON SET TO APPEAR ON “All My Children” THIS AUGUST

Agnes Nixon, creator of ABC’s daytime drama “All My Children,” returns to the show as Agnes Eckhart, a long standing board member of Pine Valley Hospital.

Nixon, often called the “queen of the modern soap opera,” created “All My Children” in 1970. She was a pioneer in daytime, writing for such shows as “Another World,” “Guiding Light,” “As The World Turns” and “Search for Tomorrow” before going on to create “One Life To Live,” “All My Children,” “The City” and “Loving.” It was on these shows where Nixon brought many current and important social issues to the small screen. She was honored in 2010 with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 37th Annual Daytime Emmys.

Nixon first appeared on “All My Children” in 2005 as the character Agnes Eckhardt, a role she created to celebrate the show’s 35th Anniversary. This time around, Agnes Eckhardt is admitted to Pine Valley Hospital where Cara (Lindsay Hartley) and David (Vincent Irizarry) tend to her. She also crosses paths with Erica Kane (Susan Lucci). Agnes has a profound effect on all of the characters she interacts with that changes the course of their lives. Nixon’s first episode airs on August 31, 2011.

Hallmarked for its iconic brand of humor and satire, “All My Children” has been prized with more than 30 Daytime Emmy Awards over the past four decades including the three-time top honor of Outstanding Drama Series. Praised for its socially conscious foundation, the show has been at the forefront of such issues as AIDS, rape, abortion, alcoholism, spousal abuse and racial bias, among others.

“All My Children” premiered on the ABC Television Network on January 5, 1970, as a half-hour show; seven years later it expanded to an hour. Julie Hanan Carruthers is executive producer with Lorraine Broderick as head writer. “All My Children” is produced in Los Angeles and airs MONDAY-FRIDAY (1:00-2:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

What do you think? Will you tune in to see Nixon say goodbye to her soap on ABC?