Tonight, CBS's venerable news magazine program, 60 Minutes, will air a special episode devoted to Guiding Light. The special was filmed in June when 60 Minutes reporter Morley Safer visited Peapack, NJ, home of Guiding Light's location shoots. Safer sat down with the cast and crew of Guiding Light as they taped the show's annual -- and final -- Bauer Barbecue.
In a special "Reporter's Notebook" segment that airs online, Safer discusses the decline of soap operas. He also talks briefly about the reaction castmembers had when they received their pink slips.
"The days of all soap operas are probably numbered. Society has changed," Safer says when asked why soap opera viewership has declined. "People are watching other stuff on television, so-called reality shows, talks shows, all kinds of things. The choices are so great that there is an ever-diminishing audience for those wonderful old chestnuts called soap operas."
Due to CBS Sports coverage of the first week of football and the coverage of the men's final of the US Open, the start of the show may be delayed in some markets. If you are planning to record the show, you may want to pad the recording times on your TiVos, DVRs, and VCRs.
Guiding Light will air its final episode on CBS this Friday, September 18, 2009.
