CBS Cancels ATWT

(From the Associated Press)

NEW YORK – CBS is canceling the soap opera As the World Turns after more than a half-century on the air.

CBS says the final episode will air next September, in its 54th year. Daytime dramas have been in a long-term ratings decline, and CBS ended the daytime soap Guiding Light earlier this year.

Through the years, actors Marisa Tomei, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey and James Earl Jones have appeared on the show.

The cancellation will leave CBS with only two daytime dramas: The Young and the Restless and The Bold and Beautiful.