Sick days home from school are always met with familiar faces of Daytime Soap Operas. Soaps are a cliché housewives best friend and a staple in afternoon TV but are they are a dying breed? Last week it was announced two of America’s most beloved Soaps, One Life To Live and All My Children, would soon see their final day. It came to as a huge shock to fans and even to people who could care less about Erica Kane. What kind of world are we living in that daytime TV thinks it can survive without Soaps and do the remaining ones need to watch their backs?

For over 40 years both OLTL and AMC have been giving generation after generation something to look forward to. TV characters are people we watch day in and day out and feel connected to, and because Soaps are on five days a week, the connection their fans feel with their Daytime folks is stronger than many of us will ever know. But when costs are high and ratings are low, shows, no matter what genre…get sent out to the pasture.

Ratings? Think of a better excuse ABC. OLTA and AMC take in more viewers than most CW shows during primetime. Sorry they aren’t your powerhouse Modern Family. As for the cost, why not just cut a day instead of the whole program? These shows have a permanent fan base being replaced by shows, one a cooking show (The Chew) and another about health transformations (The Revolution), that won’t have the same dedication Soap fans do.

This all leaves people wondering if other Soaps will soon fall victim to changing times. If the universe can take away AMC and OLTL, what’s stopping the cancellation of the remaining four? Days of Our Lives, Young and the Restless, General Hospital and Bold and the Beautiful better start negotiating their contract because proof be told, show lifespan doesn’t mean much to networks who will pull the plug any time they want.

The good news is the fans will have some time left to wrap things up with never-ending storylines of backstabbing and betrayal. Erica Kane and the rest of the AMC crew say their farewells this September while the OLTL will ring in the New Year but be gone off the air soon after the champagne is through. In the end, if it’s the ratings, let’s just wonder how the CW remains in business.  And if the costs are high let’s just take a Friday of here and there, or why don’t we just take part (all) of the 100K that the Jersey Shore cast is making to keep Daytime alive.