The peacock network is announcing today that the eight-year-old soap Passions has been cancelled. This comes as a shock to some but the writing has been on the wall for awhile. Still, things may not be as grim as they may seem.
Passions debuted on July 5, 1999 and was created by Jim Reilly, a writer from Days of Our Lives. Reilly is the head writer on the soap and is an executive producer with Lisa de Cazotte. The supernatural sudser takes place in fictional New England town Harmony and replaced the long-running Another World. Now it looks like Passions will be replaced itself.
The soap has been in danger for quite some time. When NBC renewed the series in May 2006, the network renewed it only for one year and required significant budget cuts. As a result, $4-5 million was slashed from the yearly budget and caused several crewmembers and performers to be let go. Now, nearly a year later, NBC has cancelled the soap. Why?
NBC recently announced that they would be expanding the popular Today Show from three to four hours weekdays. The Today Show is a great cash-earner for NBC and has been around for 55 years. The cast, including Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry and Al Roker, is scheduled to hold a news conference today at the Television Critics Association (TCA) winter preview tour to announce the news show expansion.
That “super-sized” version of Today will leave NBC affiliates with one less hour in their mid-morning slot. To compensate, NBC is releasing the Passions timeslot to affiliates. As a result, Passions will be pulled — though not for awhile.
The present Passions contract runs out in June but the new expanded Today won’t debut until Fall 2007. To fill the summer months, NBC is expected to negotiate with the Passions cast and show creatives to extend the soap until August. That could be the end.
But, like Tabitha and any good soap fan knows, there are always possible ways to cheat death. How could Passions survive?
NBC is proud of the soap. As recent as last week, the network issued a press release touting the fact that Passions was fourth in the ratings for all soaps in the very desirable female 18-34 demographic. Passions even tied for first place (with Days of Our Lives) for that demographic for the first week in January. As well, NBC owns Passions completely, allowing the network to keep all profits.
Because of its strong popularity with young women, there are rumblings that NBC may try to keep the series alive elsewhere. Possibilities include producing the soap (perhaps in a shortened version) for Disney’s SoapNet cable station, the struggling MyNetwork TV or even on the Internet.
The soap won’t go off the air for several months so we probably won’t know what the future holds for Passions and the Harmony residents for quite some time.
What do you think? We know there are lots of Passions fans out there. Would you like to see the soap continue? If so, consider signing our petition (leave a comment) so NBC and Passions executive producers Jim Reilly and Lisa de Cazotte will know how you feel. We’ll keep you posted on any new developments. Stay tuned — and in the meantime, let’s save Passions! 
Please note, due to the overwhelming response, 4,500 petition comments have been archived (for bandwidth issues).
To NBC Daytime Programs
cc: Jim Reilly and Lisa de Cazotte
We, the undersigned have enjoyed much of your programming, particularly the ongoing Passions series. We have enjoyed the stories and the work of the cast each week and are dismayed about the announced cancellation.
We believe that the ratings have not accurately shown the show’s popularity and potential for future revenue.
We respectfully request that you reconsider your decision to cancel Passions and to find a way to keep it on NBC daytime. If that is not possible, we implore you to find another venue to continue telling the engaging stories of the people of Harmony.
Thank you in advance for your attention and consideration.
The Undersigned fans of Passions
IVE BEEN WATCHING PASSIONS FOR 4 YEARS.IT WAS MY DAUGHTER WHO GOT ME STARTED AND NOW IM HOOKED.I LOVE ALL THE STORYLINES.I HOPE SOMETHING GOOD WILL COME OUT OF ALL THIS AND I WISH ALL THE CAST AND CREW THE BEST,HERES KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED.
omg. i luv passions so much. plz dunt cancel. if u do tatz not fair for those who luv it so much. if u cancel it, der will b nuthing to watch on nbc. soooo plz. im begging u dunt cancel passions. i’ve been watching it eva since gr 4. i luv passions sooo much.lik u dunt understand. i neva in ma life watched a soap-opera b4 i started watching passions. this show keepz me watching it even more. plz. all the passions luverz and fans will do anything to help save passions. RIT EVERYONE! plz. do us all a… Read more »
Passions saved my husbands sanity when he was parilzed (totally) in a nursing home in 2003/2004. He could not change the channel, except for Passions all else was for children at that time slot. He had Guillian Bierre, and was also on life support. He has since semi- recovered and is at home. I retired last year. Not an afternoon goes by when we do not watch Passions. Today show, balonia. I watch KTLA in the morning. We are in San Diego area.
Faye
I look forward to watching Passions every weekday and bought a DVD recorder so that I could still watch it if I was working that day. This is a show I could watch through to its entirety, even 10 years down the road. Keep it on!
Please don’t take Passions off the air! I love this show very much. I watch it every day and if i’m not home when it’s on i set my VCR to watch it so i don’t miss an episode. Or if I happen to forget to set my VCR, I go on the internet and watch the episode on the internet. So please if you have an heart please don’t take this show off the air.
Passions is the MOST creative, inventive, forward thinking TV program to ever grace the air waves. In addition, it makes an even greater contribution by developing socially responsible story lines and plots. Numerous episodes have touched lives, reached out to those in need and educated while providing entertainment in a respectful way. As a reminder, some episodes have been dedicated to domestic violence, LGBT issues, issues affecting teens and young women like cutting and low self-esteem, and the importance of family to name a few. Passions speaks to a multitude. Passions entered our hearts and minds since it first aired… Read more »
Passions is the soap opera geared toward a younger generation. All College students set there schedules around Passions. I hope advertisers do not want the spot so you will bring back television geared toward my age group!!! your making a big mistake!!!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE KEEP PASSIONS.WHY do we need another hour of the Today show? Isn’t 3 hours enough to drag on how awful the world can be?
PLEASE DON’T LET PASSIONS GO OFF THE AIR!!! I never watched any soaps before this one and I just happen to turn the channel on it in 2000 and it kept me watching. I have continued to watch and love it. It’s an addiction. I absolutely love it. PLEASE KEEP PASSIONS ON!!!
I LOVE PASSIONS it’s great show. I had Grown to love the actors & the storyline. PLEASE KEEP IT ON. PLEASE DON’T CANCEL IT. I ENJOY WATCHING DAYS THEN COMES THE ‘heat” PASSIONS. yeah baby, please keep it on the air. pleassssssse please
please keep passions my family really enjoys it.my ten year old looks forward to seeing it when he gets home from school .especially right now with the blackmailer. thank you
please don’t cancel passions its the only show i get to watch with my very sick mother..:'(
please dont take passions, i have watched these people grow in the past 8 years, through good and bad and when i hit a hard spot this show made my problems not look so big, for the sake of my sanity please keep passions going!!
I hope there is a way to keep passions on,maybe at a later time of day in the place of something thats not doing good.Is there maybe another station that would take on passions?It has such a variety of characters and so many different things going on.The gay community might watch more if ther were more about how gay people struggle,and how it is for hispanic to live every day.show how some people in public places can be bad and good,have endora keep up her mischief and be a good witch with her mother in a frenzy because the boys… Read more »
I looked up Direct tv and we can’t even get it cuz were we live you got to keep Passions ON NBC and don’t add another Today Show in the afternoon nobody is going to watch it cuz we want Passions to stay ON PLEASE PLEASE KEEP PASSIONS ON NBC!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. You know NBC will lose rating if you take Passions OFF!!!!!!!!!!!