''Tainted Dreams'' is a

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 ...

that premiered on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on December 30, 2013 and later moved exclusively to Amazon and Amazon Prime. The series debuted on Popstar! TV and the Popstar! App on September 23, 2019. Created by

Sonia Blangiardo Sonia Blangiardo (born April 18, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York, USA) is an American television soap opera director and producer. She is also the creator and director of the web series ''Tainted Dreams'', which debuted on YouTube in December 2013. Pos ...

, it is a "soap-within-a-soap" which follows the backstage drama of the fictional soap opera ''Painted Dreams''. ''Tainted Dreams'' was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series in 2014, and one for Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series in 2017.

Kelley Menighan Hensley Kelley Menighan Hensley (born February 15, 1967, in Glenview, Illinois) is an American actress best known for her role as Emily Stewart on ''As the World Turns''. She appeared on the program from 1992 until the series finale in 2010. She earned ...

, Michael Lowry,

Natalia Livingston Natalia Livingston (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Emily Quartermaine (for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award) and Rebecca Shaw on ABC's '' General Hospital'', and for playing Taylor Walker on the NBC ...

, and Anthony Wilkinson were also nominated for Daytime Emmys in 2017 for their performances.

Cast

Alicia Minshew Alicia Minshew (born May 28, 1974) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Kendall Hart on the daytime drama ''All My Children''. Early life and career Minshew was born in Plantation, Florida. Her mother is of Italian descent. H ...

as Angelica Caruso * Michael Lowry as Jordan Bradford *

Walt Willey This is a list of actors and actresses who have had roles on the soap opera '' All My Children''. The soap opera ran continuously from 1970 to 2011, with a short revival in 2013. The longest serving cast member is Susan Lucci, who played the hero ...

as Gregory Ashford *

as Veronica Ashford *

Terri Ivens Theresa Lynn Ann Evelyn Ivens (born June 23, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Simone Torres in the soap opera ''All My Children'' (2001–2007) and Orchid in the digital series '' The Bay'' (2012–2020 ...

as Kassandra Bently *

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 Max Hillstone *

Grant Aleksander Grant Aleksander Kunkowski (born August 6, 1960), better known as Grant Aleksander, is an American actor. Early life Aleksander was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and was the youngest of three brothers. He was well known at McDonogh School as both ...

as Adam Clark *

as Liza Park *

Ilene Kristen Ilene Kristen (born Ilene Schatz; July 30, 1952) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Delia Ryan in the ABC soap opera ''Ryan's Hope'' (1975–1979, 1982–1983, 1986–1989) and her Emmy-nominated performances as Roxy Bal ...

as Vivian Park *

Jessie Godderz Jessie Godderz (born April 23, 1986), also known as Mr. PEC-Tacular, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He currently competes for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he is a former one-time OVW National Heavyweight Champion, one-time ...

as Dylan Buckwald *

Bobbie Eakes Bobbie Diane Eakes (born July 25, 1961) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as Macy Alexander on ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (1989–2000, 2001, 2002–2003) and for her role as Krystal Carey on '' All My Children'' ...

as Courtney Parish *

James DePaiva James Paul DePaiva (born October 8, 1957) is an American soap opera actor. Career DePaiva is known for portraying Max Holden on the ABC Daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' from 1987 to 1990 and from 1991 to 2003. He made a brief return to th ...

as Eddy Parish *

Marnie Schulenburg Marnie Schulenburg (May 21, 1984 – May 17, 2022) was an American actress who was known for her role as Alison Stewart on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' (2007–2010). Early life Marnie Schulenburg was born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts ...

as Peyton Adams * Anthony J. Wilkinson as Anthony DiGiacomo *

Dina Cantin Claudine J. "Dina" Cantin (, formerly Manzo and Ioannou; born March 7, 1972) is an American television personality and entrepreneur. She is most known for appearing on ''The Real Housewives of New Jersey'' as an original main cast member, appeari ...

as Alessandra DiGiacomo *

Colleen Zenk Colleen Zenk is an American actress, best known for her role as Barbara Ryan in the daytime TV drama ''As the World Turns'', a role she played from September 1978 until the show ended in September 2010. Zenk was born in Barrington, Illinois, ...

as Sofia DiGiacomo *

Nathan Purdee Nathan Purdee (born August 6, 1950 in Tampa, Florida) is an American actor, best known for his roles in popular soap operas. __TOC__ Personal life Purdee's father was an officer in the United States Air Force, and the family moved around many tim ...

as Ethan Washington *

Larkin Malloy Thomas Larkin Malloy (September 24, 1954 – September 29, 2016) was an American soap opera actor, announcer, voice-over artist and acting teacher. Early life Malloy was born in New York City, the third child of John and Theresa (née Larkin) ...

as Henry Steinman *

Tonja Walker Tonja Annette Walker is an American actress and singer, who is also a former beauty pageant titleholder who has competed in the Miss USA pageant. She is known for her role as Alex Olanov on ''One Life to Live'' and for her role as Olivia St. Joh ...

as Tina Scott *

Lisa Marie Varon Lisa Marie Varon (née Sole; born February 10, 1971) is an American retired fitness competitor, bodybuilder and professional wrestler best known for her tenure with WWE under the ring name Victoria and her time spent as an Impact Wrestling Knoc ...

as Carla Santiago * Carolyn Hinsey as Herself

Production and broadcast

Blangiardo created ''Tainted Dreams'' after the cancellation of the long running daytime soap opera ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'', where she was a producer. She said in 2013, "I was struck by the loss of this unique art form that had been such an integral part of NYC for decades. I wanted to somehow capture my own two decades working behind the scenes of three different NYC-based soaps." First cast were Minshew, Lowry, Willey, Hensley and Schulenburg. In January 2013, Cantin of

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

's ''

The Real Housewives of New Jersey ''The Real Housewives of New Jersey'' (abbreviated ''RHONJ'') is an American reality television series that premiered on May 12, 2009, on Bravo. Developed as the fourth installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired twelve season ...

'' was cast as Alessandra DiGiacomo, a role written with her in mind. Later cast additions in 2013 included Peck, Zenk, Aleksander, Livingston, Malloy, Eakes, and DePaiva, Kristen and Walker. The first three episodes of ''Tainted Dreams'' were released on

on December 30, 2013. ''Tainted Dreams'' was licensed to

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

for streaming through its

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

service starting December 26, 2016. The series debuted on Popstar! TV and the Popstar! App on September 23, 2019.

Reception and awards

Writing for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'', Alina Adams named the series one of the "4 best soap operas on the web" in 2015.

External links

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References

{{US daytime soaps 2010s American drama television series 2013 web series debuts 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series American LGBT-related web series American drama web series Internet soap operas Metafictional television series Television series about show business Television series about television Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television shows set in New York City