27 Years Ago Today: Inside the Heartbreaking Final Episode of ‘Another World’

27 years ago, fans of the NBC and Procter and Gamble soap opera Another World said goodbye to the series after 35 years on the air. The series came to a dramatic conclusion on June 25, 1999.

Another World was created by soap opera icons Irna Phillips and her protégé William J. Bell on May 4, 1964.

Rumors of Another World’s cancellation began ramping up in July of 1998 when the series was dropped from the daytime lineup in the San Francisco market, which ramped up in August when rumors ramped up that a soap opera would be canceled in order to make way for former Days of Our Lives head writer James E. Reilly‘s new series, Passions.

With Days of Our Lives being the top-rated soap on the network, despite constant ongoing contract negotiations, it wasn’t going anywhere; the real battle was between the struggling soaps Sunset Beach and Another World.

Thus, on April 12, 1999, just weeks before its 35th anniversary, NBC announced that the long-running soap would be canceled, with its final episode airing on June 25.

The series was celebrated as the first soap opera to extend to an hour a day in 1974, and even briefly expanded to 90 minutes. It highlighted the use of exterior and on-location shooting, something other shows hadn’t done prior, and won over 22 Daytime Emmys.

The series finale saw the wedding of Cass Winthrop (Stephen Schnetzer) and Lila Roberts (Lisa Peluso).

Jake McKinnon (Tom Eplin) and Vicky Hudson (Jensen Buchanan) announced that they were pregnant with twin girls.

The final scene saw Rachel Cory (Victoria Wyndham) and her husband Carl Huchins (Charles Keating) walk through their living room, looking at various pictures of their family and friends throughout the year, as the song “In This Life” by Collin Raye played in the background.

Some characters from Another World crossed over to the sibling soap opera As the World Turns on CBS, but their involvement was short-lived, as they were quickly written out.

Ten years after its cancellation, Another World was briefly revived by Procter & Gamble with a text-based continuation, Another World Today, which gave viewers insight into what happened to the characters after the series ended.

However, after 5 years and 287 installments, the series by Alina Adams came to an end, bringing the characters’ journey in Bay City to a close once again.

To this day, fans continue to call for the continuation of their favorite show on social media and to see what is happening with their favorite characters, as the impact made continues to be felt.