The number of soap operas airing on daytime television expanded greatly in the 1951-52 TV season, with five new soaps premiering between CBS and NBC. The results were mixed, with only the top half returning the following year.
Hawkins Falls led NBC, more than doubling the ratings of Fairmeadows USA and Miss Susan. Not much is known of the former, including the time slot. The latter premiered in the 1950-51 TV season and was airing the last batch of its first season’s episodes. Due to negative audience reception, the show was retooled with less focus on Miss Susan herself before getting canceled.
A pair of new soaps, Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life, led the pack. They notched nearly identical ratings airing back-to-back in the noon hour. Fellow freshman Guiding Light dipped significantly from its lead-in at 12:45 pm, yet would go on to outlast both series by more than two decades.
Elsewhere on CBS’s schedule was the new soap The Egg and I, which started off the noon soap hour with a relatively low 6.8 rating. The First Hundred Years was an odd show out, airing away from the traditional soap block at 2:30 pm. Its ratings were down 32% from its first season, leading to its cancelation.