''Bay State'' is an ongoing television series broadcast on

butv10 butv10 is Boston University’s student-operated media production and distribution network. Live-streamed and on-demand programming is available online at butv10.com and on campus television channel 10. Established in 1989 as BUTV and rebrand ...

on the

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

campus. Originated in 1991, ''Bay State'' is the longest-running continuously produced student

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

in the United States. The series is set at the fictional Beacon Hill College and focuses on the sordid lives of the students there. The 150th episode of ''Bay State'' aired in January 2016.

History

''Bay State'' was created in 1991 by Delaina Dixon and Tom Rotolo, making it the longest-running continuously produced student soap opera in the United States. Dixon was inspired by a 1989 episode of '' 48 Hours'' profiling a student soap opera at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

called ''University'', which was produced from 1986 to 1990. Entirely student-produced, ''Bay State'' originally aired on the Boston University campus via

closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

and screenings, was broadcast by the

public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

service

Boston Neighborhood Network Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN) is a public, educational, and government access (PEG) broadcasting service serving Boston, Massachusetts. BNN's programming is broadcast on two channels: * News & Information, Comcast channel 9 and RCN Cable chan ...

, and was eventually streamed on the internet. The

Boston University College of Communication __NOTOC__ Boston University College of Communication (COM) is a communication school at Boston University. It was founded in 1947 as the School of Public Relations. The College of Communication is the oldest public relations school in the United ...

premiered its own channel, butv10, on February 22, 2006, which includes ''Bay State'' in its ongoing programming. In 1995, ''Bay State'' was featured on

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

and ''

Extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

''. The 150th episode of ''Bay State'' aired in January 2016.

Plot

Using the

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

"Sex, drugs and murder", the series is set at the fictional Beacon Hill College and focuses on the sordid lives of the students there. It explores social issues related to college students, as well as the dramatic storylines indicative of soap operas.

Series overview

Notable cast and crew

''Bay State'' has featured guest appearances by ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' actors

Kristian Alfonso Kristian-Joy Alfonso (born September 5, 1963) is an American actress, former figure skater and fashion model. She is recognized for her portrayal of Hope Williams Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. Early life Alfonso was bor ...

Alison Sweeney Alison Ann Sweeney (born September 19, 1976) is an American actress, reality show host, director and author. Sweeney is best known for her portrayal of Samantha "Sami" Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', a role she played under co ...

and

Austin Peck Austin Peck (born April 9, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his work in daytime soap operas. Personal life Peck was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and moved to San Francisco at age eight after his parents divorced. He briefly atten ...

, as well as ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'' host

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...

Miss Hawaii USA The Miss Hawaii USA competition, previously known as Miss Hawaii Universe, is a beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of Hawaii in the Miss USA pageant. Kiana Yamat of Honolulu was crowned Miss Hawaii USA 2022 on Februar ...

1992 Heather Hays, later a news anchor at

KDFW KDFW (channel 4) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, broadcasting the Fox network to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNet ...

, appeared on the show in 1993. In the 2000s, the series featured Sarah Hartshorne (as "Samantha Carver") before her appearance on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

's ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

'' in 2007.

Kate Hackett Kate Hackett is an actress, writer, and producer best known for creating & starring as Alice Rackham in the Amazon web series ''Classic Alice''. She is also known for Hulu's '' Best Laid Plans'' and Netflix's ''Real Rob''. Career Hackett acte ...

, creator of the web series ''

Classic Alice ''Classic Alice'' is an American comedy-drama web series about a college student making decisions according to the actions of characters in classic literature. It was created by Kate Hackett and stars Kate Hackett, Tony Noto, Elise Cantu, and Chri ...

'', also appeared on ''Bay State''. Notable crew members include Dixon, an entertainment journalist and host of

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

's ''

The Gossip Table ''The Gossip Table'' is a live daily entertainment news program on VH1 that premiered on June 3, 2013 and last aired on June 5, 2015. Broadcast weekday mornings, the show featured five entertainment columnists presenting entertainment news and go ...

''; Catherine Burns of ''

The Moth The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featuring ...

''; Rotolo, a TV production manager and producer; and Nicole Savini, senior producer of ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

''.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Official butv10 website
* * {{butv10 1991 American television series debuts 1990s American television series 2000s American television series 2010s American television series 2020s American television series 1990s American college television series 2000s American college television series 2010s American college television series 2020s American college television series American television soap operas Butv English-language television shows Student-produced television series Television shows set in Boston