The First Hundred Years

The First Hundred Years is the first ongoing TV soap opera in the United States that started as a daytime serial, airing on CBS from December 4, 1950, until June 27, 1952. A previous daytime drama on NBC, These Are My Children, aired in 1949 but lasted only one month, and NBC's Hawkins Falls began in June 1950 as a primetime "soap" before moving to daytime in April 1951. The drama revolved around two couples who were next-door neighbors. The series did not succeed due to very low viewership, as few American households had television sets, and even fewer watched during the afternoon. The series was replaced by the television version of Guiding Light, which would prove to be much more successful, airing for 57 years.