In 1949, Phillips created the first serial broadcast on a major television network, "These Are My Children", which ran on NBC for one month. In 1956, she created "As the World Turns", one of the first two daytime serials to run a half-hour in length (the other being "The Edge of Night", which premiered on CBS the same day). Within two years, "As the World Turns" had become the highest-rated drama, a position it would retain for over two decades. Within six months of the series' debut, Phillips fired lead actress Helen Wagner because she reportedly did not like the way she poured coffee. Procter & Gamble and CBS both backed Wagner, and Phillips was forced to rehire her. Wagner remained as a cast member on the series until her death in 2010, just months before "As the World Turns" concluded.