Guiding Light

Guiding Light is a CBS soap opera that currently holds the record for longest running drama in television and radio history. The series began in 1937 as a fifteen-minute radio show, and ended in 2009 as a beloved and Emmy-Award-winning hour-long daytime drama. Because of its long tenure in popular culture, the series underwent dozens of changes over the years to reflect the shifting tastes and styles in popular media. Over its many years, the constantly changing cast included over forty individual central characters, and many more regularly recurring characters. As a TV series, the first episode aired just five days after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's second inauguration. The first full-color episode aired in 1967. In 1975, new head writers Bridget and Jerome Dobson re-imagined the show with a younger, fresher feel, updating the classic series for a new generation of fans. Guiding Light won 39 Emmy Awards between 1980 and 2008, as well as many more nominations for overall and individual achievement. MORE