Somebody book the Elks Lodge for the retirement party to end all retirement parties: It appears The Guiding Light, TV’s longest-running daytime drama, is on the verge of cancellation. An insider close to the sudser confirmed a report that the low-rated series (a mere 2.17 million) will likely be dropped from the eye’s daytime schedule once its contract expires in September. CBS will have to make a decision within the next few weeks to give the show time to craft a goodbye for fans — but it also needs time to hunt for a replacement. A game show or a Tyra Banks-like chatfest are the most obvious candidates, because it seems all but certain that CBS won’t follow Light with another daytime drama — why dump more cash into a dying genre? — which is why all fans of daytime dramas should be crestfallen (not to mention scared as hell) about this latest development.

I’ve never watched Guiding Light — I’m a Jack-Abbott-loving, why-can’t-Victor-stick-with-women-his-own-age fan of Young and the Restless myself — but I will mourn its loss, regardless. The death of any daytime soap is a major blow to the genre as a whole. Daytime sudsers have taken a beating for many years now (their prime-time counterparts are stealing all the thunder, man!) but stalwarts like General Hospital and Restless have managed to hang on because there are still women (and men) out there who can’t go a day without them. But those numbers are dwindling, as evidenced by the networks’ desperate attempts to keep their soaps relevant (more telenovela-like, short story arcs! More young stars! More multi-platform gimmicks!) Light thought it came up with a clever way to keep the gals engaged by going gonzo with its low-cost, hand-held camera work (see the clip below), but the tactic only managed to alienate its already anemic fan base (it’s now the least-watched soap in daytime). It’s no wonder that CBS has finally decided to turn out the Light for good.

What do you think? Will you miss Guiding Light? Do you think the genre’s days are numbered?

Basic cable is a mercurial, ephemeral world where even the lowest-budget productions can succeed on zeitgeist-tapping alone (see: Logo’s RuPaul’s Drag Race), and the ineffable star quality of Mark-Paul Gosselaar (TNT’s Raising the Bar) gets its due. And nowhere is that better reflected than MediaWeek’s second-annual Cable Hot List, which is meant to help media buyers figure out which networks deserve their multi-millions most, but also provides a TV geek-friendly snapshot of the landscape over the past year.

USA’s still No. 1 — Monk may be tired, but Burn Notice is blazing hot, averaging a now-prime-time-worthy 6.6 million viewers. The Disney Channel cracks the list at No. 2 this year, and for good reason (her name is Hannah Montana, pictured) — the kids’ net has swept pop culture this year, bringing us chart-toppers Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, not to mention the enduring stardom of the High School Musical alums. Its older sister, ABC Family, comes in at No. 6, thanks in no small part to pregnant-teen drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which has been known to beat Gossip Girl in its Monday time slot. Fox News (No. 3) thrived despite/because of the changing of the political guard from conservative to liberal (remember, Comedy Central’s Daily Show rose to power when it had a national government to buck up against). But its chief rival, at least ideologically — MSNBC — made a splash as well (thanks, Rachel Maddow!), coming in at No. 8. As for drama, there’s plenty of that, too, with TNT (home of The Closer, Saving Grace, and Gosselaar) at No. 4 and Mad Men net AMC at No. 10.

What do you think, PopWatchers? Do Disney, ABC Family, and Fox News rule your cable viewing? Anything you’re surprised not to see (MTV, Nickelodeon, or my fave, the History Channel)?