Terrible TV news...at least for me, a guy who spent a few years freelancing and watching daytime television with my wife. Erica, Kendall, Bianca, Jack, J.R., and most importantly, David Hayward: I'll miss you all when the 41 year long run of All My Children ends in September. This also ends my dream of becoming a professional All My Children blogger. It's been a rough day.

Oh, and they're canceling One Life to Live too, but I never watched that one.

Two classic ABC soap operas will soon meet their demise: "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" will air their final episodes in September 2011 and January 2012, respectively, leaving only "General Hospital" to survive them. No word yet on whether they'll rise from the dead, like "One Life to Live"'s Elijah Clarke, after being snuffed out.

[...]

In place of the two soaps will be two new series, "The Chew," a food show co-hosted by Mario Batali set to premiere in September 2011, and "The Revolution" (working title), a makeover show hosted by Tim Gunn that focuses on "health and lifestyle transformations" that will make its debut in January 2012.

"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 of daytime for Disney ABC/Television Group, in a statement.

Noting that the two new series were inspired by the success of "The View," Frons said, "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."

[LA Times]