CbsDaytime

There's good news and bad news on the CBS soap opera front. The good news is that The Young & the Restless has been renewed for two years. The bad news is that As the World Turns could be axed just like Guiding Light.

The Young & the Restless is CBS daytime's top rated soap. It's been number one in the Nielsens for nearly 20 years running. So the renewal wasn't a big surprise. However, the pick-up came with a warning to cut costs, tighten the budget and, basically, don't expect the stars to get big raises anytime soon. In the past year alone, two of the veterans -- Melody Thomas Scott and Jess Walton -- opted to take less money when the show threatened to write them out or recast. Welcome to the brave new world of daytime!

The waiting goes on. Kind of like that spinning planet that symbolizes As the World Turns. TV Squad reported recently that many fans of the soap are anxious to see the two gay lovers, Noah (Jake Silbermann) and Luke (Van Hansis), smooch on screen. There are web sites with a clock ticking, waiting for the next on screen kiss from the fellas. Now comes news that TV Guide's Michael Logan questioned Barbara Bloom, head of CBS Daytime, to find out if the show, the sponsor or the network is afraid to depict a homosexual teen love story in the same way they do a heterosexual one?