Search for Tomorrow


Search for Tomorrow is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986.
Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show focused primarily on the character of Joanne "Jo" Gardner, portrayed by Mary Stuart for the entire run of the series.

Broadcast history and production notes

Created by Roy Winsor, Search for Tomorrow was originally written by Agnes Nixon for the series' first 13 weeks, before Irving Vendig assumed head writing duties. The program was one of several daytime soap operas produced from the 1950s through the 1980s by Procter & Gamble Productions, the broadcasting arm of the famed household products corporation. Procter & Gamble used the program, as well as the company's other serials, to advertise its products. As Searchs ratings increased, other sponsors began buying commercial time during the program.
Search for Tomorrow initially aired as a 15-minute serial from its debut in 1951 until 1968, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern/11:30 a.m. Central Time. The serial discontinued live broadcasts in favor of recorded telecasts in March 1967, began broadcasting in color on September 11, 1967, and expanded to a half-hour on September 9, 1968, keeping the 12:30/11:30 slot, while its old 15-minute partner The Guiding Light also expanded to 30 minutes and moved to the CBS afternoon lineup at 2:30/1:30. At the time, Search for Tomorrow and The Guiding Light, which had shared the same half-hour for sixteen years, were the last two 15-minute daytime programs airing on television. Search for Tomorrow would remain the top-rated show at 12:30/11:30 well into the late 1970s, despite strong competition from shows like NBC's The Who, What, or Where Game and ABC's Split Second and Ryan's Hope.
On June 8, 1981, CBS moved Search for Tomorrow from its longtime 12:30 p.m./11:30 a.m. Central time slot, which it had held for 30 years, to the 2:30/1:30 p.m. time slot between its two P&G sister shows, As the World Turns and Guiding Light, in order to accommodate the hit serial The Young and the Restless. Procter & Gamble urged CBS to return Search for Tomorrow to its former slot. The program's relocation confused or angered many longtime viewers habituated to seeing it earlier in the day. Another P&G-produced soap opera, The Edge of Night, had suffered the same problem six years earlier when the company insisted that the show be moved to the 2:30/1:30 p.m. time slot; it had previously dominated the other two networks in the ratings when the show was airing at 3:30/2:30 p.m. for almost a decade. This move was made on CBS part to give The Young and the Restless a half-hour head start on ABC's All My Children, which was part of the trio of ABC soaps, along with One Life to Live and General Hospital, that led the network to dominate the top three spots in the daytime ratings at the time. CBS refused to move Search for Tomorrow back to its original 12:30/11:30 time slot and, as the show's contract with CBS was about to expire, Procter & Gamble sold the broadcast rights to Search for Tomorrow to NBC rather than negotiate a renewal with CBS. NBC already had two soaps produced by P&G, Another World and its Dallas-inspired spin-off Texas, as part of its daytime lineup. Search for Tomorrow aired its last episode on CBS on March 26, 1982, and had its NBC premiere the following Monday, March 29; CBS filled the program's former time slot with a new political soap opera, Capitol.
The shift from CBS to NBC would prove to be the beginning of the serial's terminal decline. At its new network, Search for Tomorrow now found itself going head-to-head with its former CBS stablemate The Young and the Restless and would later face additional soap competition when Loving premiered on ABC in June 1983. Additionally, several NBC-affiliated stations opted to run syndicated programming or local newscasts in the 12:00/11:00 slot, a practice dating back to NBC's daytime ratings struggles in the 1970s that also affected already struggling soap opera The Doctors, which was airing at 12:30/11:30, until NBC bumped it to 12:00/11:00 to accommodate Search for Tomorrow. As a result, Search for Tomorrows ratings plummeted through its four-year run on NBC and never recovered; it was among the lowest-rated soaps on television at the time, kept alive mainly by its hardcore and largely elderly fans. As such, the show was increasingly unappealing to advertisers other than P&G.
On August 4, 1983, both the master copy and the backup of an episode of Search for Tomorrow scheduled for that day were reported missing, and the cast was forced to do a live show for the first time since the transition to recorded broadcasts 16 years earlier. It was the first live daytime serial since two other CBS soaps, As the World Turns and The Edge of Night, had discontinued the practice in 1975; to date, the only other soap operas to have done live episodes in any capacity since – albeit as programming stunts – were ABC's One Life to Live and General Hospital.
In the fall of 1986, NBC announced that Search for Tomorrow would be canceled, citing its declining ratings. The show aired its 9,130th and final episode on December 26, 1986, after 35 years on the air. At the time of its cancellation, it was the longest-running daytime program in American television history, but has since been surpassed by other shows. The following Monday, the game show Wordplay took over the 12:30 p.m. Eastern time slot.

Syndication

From 1987 until the summer of 1989, reruns of Search for Tomorrow aired late nights on the USA Network. The cable network aired episodes from the first three years on NBC, along with its sister P&G soap The Edge of Night.
In 2006, P&G began making several of its soap operas available, a few episodes at a time, through America Online's AOL Video service, downloadable free of charge. Reruns of Search for Tomorrow began with the October 5, 1984, episode and ceased with the January 13, 1986, episode after AOL discontinued the P&G Soaps Channel on December 31, 2008.

Executive producers

Head writers

Cast and characters

ActorCharacterDuration
Jay AcovoneBrian Emerson1982–84
Frieda AltmanMrs. Miller, the housekeeper1969–71
John AnistonMartin Tourneur1979–84
Rod ArrantsTravis Sentell1978–84
Lewis ArltDavid Sutton1976–81
Matthew AshfordCagney McLeary1984–86
Kevin BaconTodd Adamson1979
Angela BassettSelina McCulla1985
Kathleen BellerLiza Walton1972–74
Meg BennettLiza Walton1974–76
Neil BillingsleyDanny Walton1975–77
Domini BlytheEstelle Kendall1985–86
Marion BrashEunice Gardner Wyatt1957–61
Philip BrownSteve Kendall1982–83
J. Kenneth CampbellRoy Arnold1985
Robert Curtis BrownAlec Kendall1984–85
Hope BusbyLiza Walton1977–78
David CanaryArthur Benson1978
Melanie ChartoffNancy Craig1976
Maree CheathamStephanie Wyatt1974–84
Jill ClayburghGrace Bolton1969
Kevin ConroyChase Kendall1984–85
Michael CorbettWarren Carter1982–85
Colleen Dion-ScottiEvie Stone1985–86
Val DufourJohn Wyatt1972–79
Olympia DukakisBarbara Moreno1983
George EbelingPeter Rand1963
Terri EoffSusan Wyatt1984–86
Morgan FairchildJennifer Pace1973–77
Larry FlieschmanRingo Altman1982–83
David ForsythHogan McCleary1983–86
David GaleRusty Sentell Sr.1982–83
Jennifer GattiAngela Moreno1983
Anthony GeorgeTony Vicente1970–75
Cynthia GibbSusan Wyatt Carter1981–83
Louan GideonLiza Walton1985–86
Stacey GlickAndy McNeil1982–83
Nicolette GouletKathy Phillips Taper1979–82
Marian HaileyJanet Collins1971
Larry HainesStu Bergman1951–86
Ron HaleWalt Driscoll1969
Brett HalseyClay Collins1975
Bethany HanesVictoria Carson1977
Page HannahAdair McCleary1984–85
Peter HaskellLloyd Kendall1983–85
Michael HawkinsSteve Haskins1967
Joel HigginsBruce Carson1977
Lois HolmesMrs. Miller, the housekeeper1971—72
John JamesTom Bergman1977
Don KnottsWilbur Peterson1953-55
Jane KrakowskiT.R. Kendall1984–86
Mark LenardNathan Walsh1959–60
Audra LindleySue Knowles1962
Mitch LitrofskyThomas "Trip" Bergman1981–83
Richard LohmanGary Walton1975–77
Carl LowBob Rogers1965–83
Christopher LoweEric Leshinski1969–78
Robert MandanSam Reynolds1965–70
Sherry MathisLiza Walton1978–85
Andrea McArdleWendy Wilkins1977
Jane McArthurMarian Rand1963
Marcia McCabeSunny Adamson1978–86
Marilyn McIntyreCarolyn Hanley1977–80
Jeffrey MeekQuinn McCleary1984–86
Stacey MoranSusan Wyatt1977–80
Denise NickersonLiza Walton1971–72
Michael NouriSteve Kaslow1975–78
Terry O'SullivanArthur Tate1952–66
Tina OrrMeredith Hartford1977–78
Will PattonKentucky Bluebird1984–85
Anne PearsonAllison Metcalf1959–65
Patsy PeaseCissie Mitchell Sentell1978–84
Lisa PelusoWendy Wilkins Carter1977–85
Michelle PhillipsRuby Ashford1983
Gene PietragalloBrian Emerson1981–82
Melba RaeMarge Bergman1951–71
Leslie Ann RayDonna Davis1977–78
Sandy RobinsonJanet Collins1956–61
Robert RockwellGreg Hartford1977–78
Frank SchofieldJohn Austin1963
Louise ShafferStephanie Wyatt1984–86
Fran SharonJanet Collins1961–65
Courtney SimonKathy Phillips1971–79; 1984
Peter SimonScott Phillips1969–79
Marcus SmytheDane Taylor1982–83
Ellen SpencerJanet Collins1951–56
Ralph StantleyLloyd Gibson1963
Leslie StevensJustine Calvert1984–85
Douglas StevensonLee Sentell1980–82
Adam StorkeAndrew Ryder1985
Mary StuartJoanne Gardner1951–86
Tom SullivanMichael Kendall1983
Millee TaggartJanet Collins1971–82
Wayne TippitTed Adamson1980–82
Gary TomlinBruce Carson1973–74
Patrick TovattMatt McCleary1986
Martin VidnovicCord Tourneur1984
Douglass WatsonWalter Haskins1960s
Billie Lou WattEllie Harper Bergman1968–81
Ann WilliamsEunice Gardner Wyatt1966–76
Marian WoodsVictoria Windsor1984
Anne WyndhamAmy Carson1975–77