Soap opera fans were sad to see “All My Children,” and “One Life to Live” leave television in 2011 after runs of more than 40 years. Fans dying to see the shows return to TV may be in for some good news, according to the Los Angeles Times.
OWN—owned by entertainment giant Oprah Winfrey—has said it will air the first 40 episodes of the two soap operas during a limited-time 10-week summer event. The episodes will be 30 minutes long and appear from Monday to Thursday.
“All my Children” will air at 4 p.m. ET and “One Life to Live” will air at 7 p.m. ET.
"These shows have proved to be very popular with a significant, loyal fan base, not to mention Oprah herself is a big fan," said OWN President Erik Logan through a statement.
Currently, “One Life to Live” and “All My Children” fans have had the chance to watch new episodes of the soap operas by purchasing them online with iTunes or streaming them on Hulu.
“One Life to live” began in 1968 with on the ABC network and lasted for 43 years until 2011. “All My Children” started in 1970 on ABC and lasted 41 years until 2011. The two shows began to lose ratings as the face of daytime television started to change. The production company Prospect Park brought the shows back with an online-only approach. Staring July 1 they'll appear on The Online Network.
When the two shows left ABC in 2011 they left behind “General Hospital”, the longest running soap opera on ABC. “General Hospital” began in 1963 and is the only soap opera still running on the network. After “One Life to Live” ended, some of the characters from the show made appearances on “General Hospital.”
