Julianne Moore was in the film As the World Turns.
As the World Turns -LRB- often referred to as ATWT -RRB- is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2 , 1956 , to September 17 , 2010 .. CBS. CBS. American. United States. television. television. soap opera. soap opera. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light .. Irna Phillips. Irna Phillips. soap opera. soap opera. sister show. sister show. Guiding Light. Guiding Light. Running for 54 years , As the World Turns holds the second-longest continuous run of any daytime network soap opera on American television , surpassed only by Guiding Light .. American. United States. television. television. soap opera. soap opera. Guiding Light. Guiding Light. As the World Turns was produced for the first 43 years in Manhattan and in Brooklyn from 2000 until 2010 .. Manhattan. Manhattan. Brooklyn. Brooklyn. Set in the fictional town of Oakdale , Illinois , the show debuted on April 2 , 1956 , at 1 :30 pm EST. .. Illinois. Illinois. EST. Eastern Time Zone. Prior to that date , all serials had been 15 minutes in length .. As the World Turns and The Edge of Night , which premiered on the same day at 4 :30 pm EST , were the first two to be 30 minutes in length from their premiere .. EST. Eastern Time Zone. The Edge of Night. The Edge of Night. At first , viewers did not respond to the new half-hour serial , but ratings picked up in its second year , eventually reaching the top spot in the daytime Nielsen ratings by fall 1958 .. Nielsen ratings. Nielsen ratings. In 1959 , the show started a streak of weekly ratings wins that was not interrupted for over 12 years .. The show switched to color on August 21 , 1967 , and expanded from a half-hour in length to one hour starting on December 1 , 1975 , when The Edge of Night moved to ABC .. The Edge of Night. The Edge of Night. ABC. American Broadcasting Company. In the year-to-date ratings , As the World Turns was the most-watched daytime drama from 1958 until 1978 , with ten million viewers tuning in each day .. At its height , core actors such as Helen Wagner , Don MacLaughlin , Don Hastings , and Eileen Fulton became nationally known .. Helen Wagner. Helen Wagner. Don MacLaughlin. Don MacLaughlin. Don Hastings. Don Hastings. Eileen Fulton. Eileen Fulton. Three of these actors -- Wagner , Hastings , and Fulton -- are also the three longest serving actors in the history of American soap operas .. American. United States. longest serving actors. List of longest-serving soap opera actors#Television. The show passed its 10,000 th episode on May 12 , 1995 , and celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 2 , 2006 .. On September 18 , 2009 , As the World Turns became the last remaining Procter and Gamble-produced soap opera for CBS after Guiding Light aired its final episode on the network .. CBS. CBS. soap opera. soap opera. Guiding Light. Guiding Light. Procter and Gamble. Procter and Gamble. On December 8 , 2009 , CBS announced that it cancelled As the World Turns after almost 54 years due to low ratings .. CBS. CBS. The show taped its final Procter and Gamble scenes for CBS on June 23 , 2010 , and with a dramatic storyline finale , its final episode on the network aired on September 17 , 2010 .. CBS. CBS. Procter and Gamble. Procter and Gamble. On October 18 , 2010 , CBS replaced As the World Turns with a newly debuted talk show The Talk .. CBS. CBS. The Talk. The Talk ( TV series )