Irna Phillips not only created the blueprint for daytime dramas, but was among the first to include a diverse cast of characters on network TV.
For the first time in 25 years, a new daytime drama is coming to network television. “Beyond the Gates,” scheduled to premiere on Monday, February 24, is also the first new soap opera to debut on CBS since 1987. It’s the first new show for Procter & Gamble Productions, the company that put the “soap” in “soap opera,” since “As the World Turns” went off the air in 2010, and it’s the first time the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has stepped up as a co-presenter. FOR MORE
in Wikipedia
Irna Phillips (July 1, 1901 – December 23, 1973) was an American scriptwriter, screenwriter, casting agent, and actress who pioneered a style of daytime soap opera in the United States geared specifically toward women. Phillips created, produced, and wrote several radio and television daytime serials throughout her career, including Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and Another World. She was also a mentor to several other pioneers of the American daytime soap opera, including Agnes Nixon, William J. Bell and Ted Corday.
