NBC Daytime

NBC Daytime was the daytime programming block of NBC. It historically featured a large number of soap operas and game shows. Its main competitors were CBS Daytime and ABC Daytime.

History

Game shows were discontinued from NBC Daytime's lineup in 1994 and soap operas were largely dropped in the 1980s and the 1990s. By the 2000s, NBC Daytime had been reduced to only two shows: Days of our Lives and Passions.

Passions was cancelled in 2007, resulting in the immediate discontinuation of the NBC Daytime branding. As such, NBC no longer has a daytime programming block, but the network continues to air Days of our Lives. The former official website of NBC Daytime now redirects to the NBC website for Days of our Lives.

Surviving show

Days of our Lives

• Debut: November 8, 1965
• Replaced program: Moment of Truth
• Taping location: Burbank, California
• Creators: Ted Corday and Betty Corday
• Production company: Universal Television, Sony Pictures Television
• Producing team: Ken Corday (Executive Producer), Greg Meng (Co-Executive Producer/Executive in Charge of Production), Lisa de Cazotte (Co-Executive Producer), Albert Alarr (Producer), Janet Spellman-Drucker (Senior Coordinating Producer), Tim Stevens (Senior Coordinating Producer)
• Head Writers: Gary Tomlin and Christopher Whitesell
• Writing team: Associate Head Writers: Lorraine Broderick, Rick Draughon, Christopher Dunn, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan. Script Editor: Fran Myers. Script Writers: Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, David Cherrill Jeanne Marie Ford, Janet Iacobuzio, Melissa Salmons.
• Directing team: Herb Stein, Phil Sogard, Albert Alarr, Grant A. Johnson, Steven Williford,
• Cast: Kristian Alfonso, Camilla Banus, Blake Berris, Shawn Christian, Bryan Dattilo, Eileen Davidson, Casey Jon Deidrick, Galen Gering, Deidre Hall, Drake Hogestyn, Lauren Koslow, Kate Mansi, Eric Martsolf, Joseph Mascolo, Chandler Massey, Peggy McCay, Casey Moss, Nathan Owens, Melissa Reeves, James Reynolds, Suzanne Rogers, James Scott, Freddie Smith, Alison Sweeney, Josh Taylor, Greg Vaughn, Arianne Zuker

List of shows on NBC Daytime

Soap operas

NBC has aired close to 30 soap operas between 1949 to 2007. Despite the discontinuation of the NBC Daytime programming block in 2007, Days of Our Lives continues to air to this day as a standalone daytime show on the network.

• Another World (1964–1999)
• Ben Jerrod (1963)
• Bright Promise (1969–1972)
• Days of Our Lives (1965–present)
• The Doctors (1963–1982)
• Fairmeadows USA (1951–1952)
• First Love (1954–1955)
• From These Roots (1958–1961)
• Generations (1989–1991)
• Golden Windows (1954–1955)
• Hawkins Falls (1951–1955)
• Hidden Faces (1968–1969)
• How to Survive a Marriage (1974–1975)
• Lovers and Friends (1977–1978)
• Miss Susan (1951)
• Modern Romances (1954–1958)
• Moment of Truth (1965)
• Morning Star (1965–1966)
• Our Five Daughters (1962)
• Paradise Bay (1965–1966)
• Passions (1999–2007)
• Return to Peyton Place (1972–1974)
• Santa Barbara (1984–1993)
• Search for Tomorrow (1982–1986)
• Somerset (1970–1976)
• Sunset Beach (1997–1999)
• Texas (1980–1982)
• These Are My Children (1949)
• Three Steps to Heaven (1953–1954)
• Young Doctor Malone (1958–1963)

Game shows

NBC ended its game show block in 1991. They briefly revived the format with three game shows in the 1993–94 season, but has not returned since. NBC now programs no game shows. NBC's local stations now get their game shows via syndication.

• All Star Secrets (1979)
• Baffle (1973–1974)
• Battlestars/The New Battlestars (1981–1982, 1983)
• Blockbusters (1980–1982, 1987)
• Caesars Challenge (1993–1994)
• Card Sharks (1978–1981)
• Celebrity Sweepstakes (1974–1976)
• Chain Reaction (1980)
• Concentration (1958–1973; 1987-1991 as Classic Concentration)
• Dream House (1983–1984)
• Eye Guess (1966–1969)
• Family Secrets (1993)
• 50 Grand Slam (1976)
• Go! (1983–1984)
• The Gong Show (1976–1978)
• High Rollers (1974–1976, 1978-1980)
• Hit Man! (1983)
• The Hollywood Squares (1966–1980)
• Hot Potato (1984)
• It Takes Two (1969–1970)
• Jeopardy! (1964–1975 and 1978–1979)
• Knockout (1977–1978)
• Las Vegas Gambit (1980–1981)
• Let's Make a Deal (1963–1968 and 1990–1991)
• The Magnificent Marble Machine (1975–1976)
• The Match Game (1962–1969)
• The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (1983–1984)
• Mindreaders (1979–1980)
• Name That Tune (1974–1975; 1977)
• Password Plus (1979–1982)
• The Price Is Right (1956–1963)
• Queen for a Day (1956–1960)
• Sale of the Century (1969–1973, 1983–1989)
• Scattergories (1993)
• Scrabble (1984–1990, 1993)
• Stumpers! (1976)
• Super Password (1984–1989)
• Three on a Match (1971–1974)
• Tic-Tac-Dough (1956–1959)
• Time Machine (1985)
• To Tell the Truth (1990–1991)
• Twenty-One (1956–1958)
• Wheel of Fortune (1975–1989, 1991)
• Win, Lose or Draw (1987–1989)
• Winning Streak (1974–1975)
• Wordplay (1986–1987)
• You Don't Say! (1963–1969)
• Your Number's Up (1985)

Talk/Magazine Shows

• A Closer Look with Faith Daniels (1991–1993)
• Cover to Cover (1991)
• The David Letterman Show (1980)
• The Jane Whitney Show (1994)
• John & Leeza (1993)
• Later Today (1999-2000)
• Leeza (1993–1999)
• The Marsha Warfield Show (1990–1992)
• One on One with John Tesh with John Tesh (1991)
• The Other Side (1994–1995)

Executives

Head of Writer Development

• Lin Bolen (1968-1975)
• Madeline David (1975-1979)
• Linda Line (1979-1987) [1]

Name	Title	Years	Notes
Fred Silverman	President of Daytime Programming	1978–1982	Retooled Lovers and Friends and replaced it with For Richer, For Poorer - which lasted a short while; L&F/FRFP was a replacement for the cancelled Somerset; changed the line-up consisting of three soaps, Days of Our Lives, The Doctors & Another World; expanded Another World to 90 minutes which coincided with the death of character John Randolph (Michael M. Ryan); had to cut back AW to 60 minutes (from 90 minutes) to make room for another one of Another World's spinoff shows, Texas; canceled Password Plus, The Doctors & Texas on December 31st, 1982, right before he left NBC;
Brian Frons	Vice President of Daytime Programming	1983–1991	Under his leadership of NBC Daytime, he brought in several new game shows such as Dream House, GO!, Hit Man, Hot Potato, The Match Game - Hollywood Squares Hour, Time Machine, Your Number's Up, and Wordplay - all were canceled due to low ratings and neither did not last after just one season. The only two that would make it pass season 1 or more is Super Password (1984–1989) and Scrabble (1984–1993) and canceled two long running game shows that had been at NBC for years: Sale of The Century (1969–1989) and Wheel of Fortune (1975–1989). He also added a new soap opera Santa Barbara (1984-1993). He canceled Search For Tomorrow in December 1986, after it was on NBC for 4 years. Frons previously work for Search For Tomorrow, while working as the head for CBS Daytime. Frons appeared as God on Santa Barbara in a dream sequence involving Mason Capwell (Lane Davies). He helped Santa Barbara garner three daytime emmys for best drama series and brought the short-lived soap Generations (1989–1991).
John Rohrbeck	Vice President of Daytime Programming	1991–1996	Gave Another World another shot to improve ratings and offered them an extension on their contract and instead first, Generations was canceled in 1991 and then Santa Barbara, 2 years later in 1993.
Don Ohlmeyer	Vice President of Daytime Programming	1996–1999	Brought soap opera Sunset Beach, canceled Another World and replaced it with Passions in July 1999.
Jeff Zucker	Vice President of Daytime Programming	2000–2007	Canceled the soap Passions and sent it to Direct TV's 101 Channel in 2007. Made a statement about Days of Our Lives in 2007 that the show would most likely not "continue past 2009".

Proposed Series

• Coming of Age: Created by Bill Bell Jr.
• Days of Our Lives spinoff [2]

See also

• ABC Daytime
• CBS Daytime

External links

• Official website (from the Internet Archive Wayback machine)