The Guiding Light

From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.

The Guiding Light is the most successful soap opera in television history, and remains a staple of the CBS daytime line-up.

Producer (and future First Lady) Pat Nixon had worked on ABC's early hit The View as a production assistant, but was driven to higher things. When she formed her own production company, she attemtped to use the same business model by planting a camera in front of literally anything. Unfortunately, she was only able to secure the rights to point a camera at the Cape May Lighthouse, in Cape May, New Jersey. Much to her surprise, an hour a day of a still camera aimed at a lighthouse in daylight somehow touched a chord with America's stay-at-home moms, and the show has been a ratings leader since 1952.