''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

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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. P ...

, 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, Michael Lowry, Natalia Livingston, and Anthony Wilkinson were also nominated for Daytime Emmys in 2017 for their performances.

Cast

* Alicia Minshew as Angelica Caruso * Michael Lowry as Jordan Bradford * Walt Willey as Gregory Ashford * Kelley Menighan Hensley as Veronica Ashford * Terri Ivens as Kassandra Bently * Austin Peck 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 b ...

as Adam Clark * Natalia Livingston as Liza Park * Ilene Kristen as Vivian Park * Jessie Godderz as Dylan Buckwald * Bobbie Eakes as Courtney Parish * James DePaiva as Eddy Parish * Marnie Schulenburg as Peyton Adams * Anthony J. Wilkinson as Anthony DiGiacomo * Dina Cantin as Alessandra DiGiacomo * Colleen Zenk as Sofia DiGiacomo * Nathan Purdee as Ethan Washington * Larkin Malloy as Henry Steinman * Tonja Walker 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 ''Soap Opera Digest'' is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional in ...

as Herself

Production and broadcast

Blangiardo created ''Tainted Dreams'' after the cancellation of the long running daytime soap opera '' One Life to Live'', 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

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'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 seaso ...

'' 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 for streaming through its

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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 cult ...

'', 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