Domino effect revisited

And then there were seven.....

You may recall a post earlier this year where TV Week editor Josef Adalian mentioned a post of mine about the future of daytime.

My post, which went live a few days before Guiding Light was canceled, said that once GL went, I feared a domino effect would follow.

Josef initially called this the words of a “wacky blogger.”  Joe was very nice when I contacted him, and he apologized for the use of the word “wacky.”

I respect Joe as a journalist (when TVWeek went to online only, there’s a reason he stuck around) and we agreed to disagree on this topic, as Joe believed a domino effect was unlikely to happen.

But here’s the thing: Since April, when GL was canceled, a few of those dominoes have started to sway.

The TCA session with Nina Tassler that I mentioned a few posts ago? Indicates that As The World Turns is next to fall. This isn’t even new news, since we were told at the last renewal that it was the final renewal for ATWT.

And today, we’re hearing from Daytime Confidential and We Love Soaps that All My Children is moving production to Los Angeles in an attempt to “streamline” the show and save money.

OK, I get it: No other “domino” has fallen just yet.

But the news about ATWT is by no means subtle. And make no mistake, folks: AMC’s move to LA is completely equal to GL’s shift to Peapack. It’s an attempt to slash costs and put economics first (with creativity and artistry a much lower priority). And we all know how much time that ended up buying GL.

(It’s also a case of ABC worrying about the economics of the show when its absolute first concern should be getting a new writing team that knows what the hell it’s doing!)

I’m concerned and worried, because ATWT and the once-magnificent AMC, an Agnes Nixon original, may be gone in a year or so. If seven shows become five shows? That domino effect will pick up momentum.