Soaps Dissed: ABC Kills 'Life,' Abandons 'Children'

Enlarge this image toggle caption Steve Fenn/AP/ABC Steve Fenn/AP/ABC

ABC pulled the plug on the classic soap operas All My Children and One Life To Live on Thursday.

The final episode of All My Children will air in September, and One Life To Live will end in January, the network announced.

Their replacements will be a pair of "transformation, food and lifestyle" shows — The Chew, a dining-themed twist on The View headlined by chef Mario Batali, and The Revolution, featuring what ABC dubbed a "dream team" of lifestyle consultants including fashion guru Tim Gunn, celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak and American Idol alum Kimberley Locke.

"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," Brian Frons, president of ABC's daytime television group, said in a statement. "We are taking this bold step to expand our business because viewers are looking for different types of programming these days."

The move leaves the venerable General Hospital as ABC's only remaining soap. Created in 1963, it's also the genre's longest-running survivor — old-timer Guiding Light stopped shining in 2009, and As the World Turns made its final rotation last fall.

All My Children was born in 1970 and propelled Susan Lucci to decades of fame. The residents of fictional Pine Valley broke many TV taboos, including daytime TV's first same-sex kiss. Over in the town of Llanview, One Life to Live began tackling social issues amid the suds in 1968. Both shows won multiple daytime Emmys.