Soap fans have some good news -- and a measure of revenge.
ABC is keeping "General Hospital" on the air and eliminating "The Revolution," one of two replacements for two canceled soaps, ABC confirmed. The network will also expand "Good Morning America" to afternoons for nine weeks in the summer to replace "The Revolution."
The tentatively titled "GMA in the Afternoon" will fill the former "Revolution" time slot until it is taken over full time by Katie Couric's new daytime talk show, "Katie," in the fall. "The Revolution" will end Friday, July 6, and the afternoon "GMA" will begin airing Monday, July 9.
The announcement comes as "GMA" is narrowing its ratings gap with NBC's top-rated "Today."
Soap fans have feared for "General Hospital," ABC's sole remaining daytime soap, since the cancellation of the long-running "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" last year. "General Hospital" has been competing for increasingly tight daytime real estate with "The Revolution" and another new lifestyle show, "The Chew."
Almost exactly one year ago, ABC's then-president of daytime, Brian Frons, infuriated soap fans with the announcement that "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" would be canceled and replaced with "The Revolution" and "The Chew."
Frons left in January, and his daytime responsibilities were taken over by Vicki Dummer. The afternoon reshuffling is one of her first major moves since taking on the new duties.
