New soap seems to be a big bust
By Linda Hirsch, TV Radio and Cable Week, 1984	Home   Cette page en Français

Santa Barbara, the great soap hope of NBC has so far turned out to be anything but. The Peacock geniuses had hoped that airing the 3-4 p.m. (Eastern time) soap during the Olympics would cut into the daytime ratings for ABC, which was showing shortened editions of its soaps. Well, that didn't seem to work. Viewers have avoided Santa Barbara in droves in fact, the show's ratings keep getting lower as each week goes by.

At one point, NBC was considering canceling Search For Tomorrow, but word is that Search For Tomorrow now has higher ratings than Santa Barbara. There's no way that NBC is going to cancel Search For Tomorrow if it's topping the network's supposed bright new daytime star.

Sub- writing troubles abound on Santa Barbara, we understand that six of the sub-writers have left in the last few weeks., with a search on for new sub-writers all the time.

Meanwhile, Mary Ellis Bunim, who has served as executive to As the World Turns, is supposedly heading out to Santa Barbara as that show's new executive producer. That means that Robert Calhoun who was producer over at Guiding Light, will now topline As the World Turns.

Originally, Bunim was to go over to Another World, but since she's opted for Santa Barbara, another World is looking for someone to take over for Alan Potter, who is retiring. Potter, who has produced such soaps as The Doctors, Guiding Light and Another World, wants to take the time to go sailing, one of his true love.