I discovered "As the World Turns" as a tiny tween, the first time when I was genuinely sick enough to stay home from school and my working mom decided I was old enough to stay home alone. After I got well, I would sneak a peek at the forbidden non-PBS afternoon show every chance I got and was always thrilled by the constantly rotating cast of characters. For 54 years, "As the World Turns" was a training ground for future movie and TV stars. But its fan base of stay-at-home-moms evaporated and now the oldest surviving American soap opera is donezo as of next September. I was shocked and confused when I heard the news. Why was this happening? "As the World Turns" has so many fans. But then I realized I couldn't remember the last episode I'd watched from beginning to end. Sure I still tune in for a minute or two, when I'm home sick, but mostly I just take Dayquil and go to work anyway. That's no way for a network show to keep advertisers. [BBC]

In a way, the actors who worked on "As the World Turns" over the years have treated the show the same way. Just look at the famous people whose careers the soap launched.