Loving (TV series)
| Loving | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Soap opera |
| Created by |
Agnes Nixon Douglas Marland |
| Starring | Series cast |
| Opening theme | "Theme from Loving" by Michael Karp (1983-1989); "The Loving Theme (#1)", sung by Johnny Mathis (1989-1991); "The Loving Theme (#2)", by David Randall Lowe and David M. Shapiro (1991-1992); "The Loving Theme (#3)", a.k.a. "L-O-V-I-N-G", by Jeffrey Osborne (1992-1995) |
| Composer(s) | Michael Karp (multiple episodes) Mike Renzi (multiple episodes, and series finale) Score Productions (multiple episodes) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 3,169 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | See Crew |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | June 26, 1983 – November 10, 1995 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The City |
| Related shows |
All My Children One Life to Live General Hospital |
Loving is an American television soap opera that ran on ABC from June 26, 1983, to November 10, 1995, a total of 3,169 episodes. The serial, set in the fictional town of Corinth, Pennsylvania, was co-created by Agnes Nixon and former actor Douglas Marland.
The show was broadcast in France under the title Amoureusement Votre (Lovingly Yours), in Croatia as Ljubav, in Germany as Loving - Wege der Liebe, and in Italy as Quando si ama (When someone loves). Loving premiered on June 26, 1983 as a two-hour primetime movie and on the next day became a half-hour weekday soap opera.
On July 4, 1995, ABC officially canceled Loving due to low ratings, and its final episode aired on November 10, 1995. On November 13, 1995, the following Monday, ABC replaced Loving with its spin-off The City, which ran until March 27, 1997.
With the established and successful ABC daytime soap operas veering into a new trend of youth orientation and storylines with more action and adventure, soap creator Agnes Nixon and actor/writer Douglas Marland sought out to create a new serial that would be introduced as a traditional, classic soap opera for the 1980s. Romance would be the show's key centerpiece; its original working title was Love Without End. By early 1983, the new creation was fully developed, as Loving, with a cast set for both a primetime premiere and a weekday run.
Loving premiered on June 26, 1983 as a two-hour primetime movie. It starred much of the original cast and featured film actors Lloyd Bridges and Geraldine Page. Set in the fictional town of Corinth, Pennsylvania, the early years of the show revolved around the blue-collar Donovans and the blue-blood Aldens. Major social issues such as incest, alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress syndrome of Vietnam vets were covered. But Marland and Nixon left the series after a few years and in spite of ABC's bumping down Ryan's Hope to give Loving a choice timeslot, and cast additions of such popular All My Children stars as Debbi Morgan and Jean LeClerc, the ratings remained low throughout the show's run. Loving suffered from a constant revolving door of writers and producers, leading to questionable story moments such as a heroine's addiction to cough syrup and one character's selling his soul to the Devil. Circumstances became so desperate in the early 1990s that, to keep the show afloat, ABC assigned its own programming suits, network executive Haidee Granger and later, Vice President of Daytime Programming JoAnn Emmerich, to serve as executive producers. Despite its frequently subpar ratings, on June 26, 1993, Loving celebrated its 10th Anniversary on ABC.
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