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A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and
sentimentality Sentimentality originally indicated the reliance on feelings as a guide to truth, but in current usage the term commonly connotes a reliance on shallow, uncomplicated emotions at the expense of reason. Sentimentalism in philosophy is a view in ...
. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers.Bowles, p. 118. The term was preceded by "
horse opera A horse opera, hoss opera, oat opera or oater is a Western movie or television series that is clichéd or formulaic, in the manner of a soap opera. The term, which was originally coined by silent film-era Western star William S. Hart, is used v ...
", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
's ''
The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...
'', first broadcast in 1950, is the world's longest-running radio soap opera. The longest-running current television soap is '' Coronation Street'', which was first broadcast on ITV in 1960, with the record for the longest running soap opera in history being held by '' Guiding Light'', which began on radio in 1937, transitioned to television in 1952, and ended in 2009. A crucial element that defines the soap opera is the open-ended serial nature of the narrative, with stories spanning several episodes. One of the defining features that makes a television program a soap opera, according to Albert Moran, is "that form of television that works with a continuous open narrative. Each episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode".Bowles, p. 121. In 2012, ''
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'' columnist Robert Lloyd wrote of daily dramas: Soap opera storylines run concurrently, intersect and lead into further developments. An individual episode of a soap opera will generally switch between several concurrent
narrative thread A narrative thread, or plot thread (or, more ambiguously, a storyline), refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry "all-knowing" sor ...
s that may at times interconnect and affect one another or may run entirely independent to each other. Episodes may feature some of the show's current storylines, but not always all of them. Especially in daytime serials and those that are broadcast each weekday, there is some rotation of both storyline and actors so any given storyline or actor will appear in some but usually not all of a week's worth of episodes. Soap operas rarely conclude all the current storylines at the same time. When one storyline ends, there are several other story threads at differing stages of development. Soap opera episodes typically end on some sort of
cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...
, and the season finale (if a soap incorporates a break between seasons) ends in the same way, only to be resolved when the show returns for the start of a new yearly broadcast. Evening soap operas and those that air at a rate of one episode per week are more likely to feature the entire cast in each episode, and to represent all current storylines in each episode. Evening soap operas and serials that run for only part of the year tend to bring things to a dramatic end-of-season cliffhanger. In 1976, ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine described American daytime television as "TV's richest market", noting the loyalty of the soap opera fan base and the expansion of several half-hour series into hour-long broadcasts in order to maximize ad revenues. The article explained that at that time, many prime time series lost money, while daytime serials earned profits several times more than their production costs. The issue's cover notably featured its first daytime soap stars, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of '' Days of Our Lives'', a married couple whose onscreen and real-life romance was widely covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press at large.


Origin and history of the genre

The first program generally considered to be a "soap opera" or daytime serial by scholars of the genre is '' Painted Dreams'', which premiered on WGN radio Chicago, on October 20, 1930. It was regularly broadcast in a daytime time slot, where most listeners would be housewives; thus, the shows were aimed at – and consumed by – a predominantly female audience. '' Clara, Lu, 'n Em'' would become the first ''network'' radio serial of the type when it aired on the
NBC Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Comp ...
at 10:30 p.m.
Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...
on January 27, 1931. Although it did not make the move until February 15, 1932, ''Clara, Lu 'n Em'' would become the first network serial of the type to move to a weekday daily timeslot, and so also became the first network daytime serial.


Plots and storylines

The main characteristics that define soap operas are "an emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts; some coverage of topical issues; set in familiar domestic interiors with only occasional excursions into new locations".Bowles, p. 119. Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in a particular place, or focus on a large extended family. The storylines follow the day-to-day activities and personal relationships of these characters. "Soap narratives, like those of film melodramas, are marked by what Steve Neale has described as 'chance happenings, coincidences, missed meetings, sudden conversions, last-minute rescues and revelations,
deus ex machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( , ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; English "god out of the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function ...
endings.'" These elements may be found across the gamut of soap operas, from '' EastEnders'' to ''
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''.Geraghty, p. 30. In many soap operas, in particular daytime serials in the US, the characters are frequently attractive, seductive, glamorous and wealthy. Soap operas from the United Kingdom and Australia tend to focus on more everyday characters and situations, and are frequently set in working-class environments. Many of the soaps produced in those two countries explore
social realist Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...
storylines such as family discord, marriage breakdown or financial problems. Both UK and Australian soap operas feature comedic elements, often affectionate comic stereotypes such as the gossip or the grumpy old man, presented as a comic foil to the emotional turmoil that surrounds them. This diverges from US soap operas where such comedy is rare. UK soap operas frequently make a claim to presenting "reality" or purport to have a "realistic" style. UK soap operas also frequently foreground their geographic location as a key defining feature of the show while depicting and capitalising on the exotic appeal of the stereotypes connected to the location. As examples, ''EastEnders'' focuses on the tough and grim life in the East End of London; ''Coronation Street'' and its characters exhibit the stereotypical characteristic of "northern straight talking".Geraghty, p. 35.
Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
, secret relationships, extramarital affairs, and genuine hate have been the basis for many soap opera storylines. In US daytime serials, the most popular soap opera characters, and the most popular storylines, often involved a romance of the sort presented in paperback
romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pr ...
s. Soap opera storylines weave intricate, convoluted and sometimes confusing tales of characters who have affairs, meet mysterious strangers and fall in love, and who commit adultery, all of which keeps audiences hooked on the unfolding story. Crimes such as kidnapping, rape, and even murder may go unpunished if the perpetrator is to be retained in the ongoing story. Australian and UK soap operas also feature a significant proportion of romance storylines. In Russia, most popular serials explore the "romantic quality" of criminal and/or oligarch life. In soap opera storylines, previously unknown children, siblings and
twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
s (including the evil variety) of established characters often emerge to upset and reinvigorate the set of relationships examined by the series. Unexpected calamities disrupt weddings, childbirths, and other major life events with unusual frequency. As in comic books – another popular form of linear storytelling pioneered in the US during the 20th century – a character's death is not guaranteed to be permanent. On ''
The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...
'', Taylor Hayes (
Hunter Tylo Hunter Tylo (born Deborah Jo Hunter; July 3, 1962) is an American actress, author and former model. She is best known for her role as Taylor Hayes (1990–2002, 2004–14, 2018–19) on ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. Early life Tylo was born ...
) was shown to
flatline A flatline is an electrical time sequence measurement that shows no activity and therefore, when represented, shows a flat line instead of a moving one. It almost always refers to either a flatlined electrocardiogram, where the heart shows no el ...
and have a funeral. Once Tylo reprised her character in 2005, a
retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...
explained that Taylor had actually gone into a coma. Stunts and complex physical action are largely absent, especially from daytime serials. Such story events often take place off-screen and are referred to in dialogue instead of being shown. This is because stunts or action scenes are difficult to adequately depict without complex movements, multiple takes, and post-production editing. When episodes were broadcast live, post-production work was impossible. Though all serials have long switched to being taped, extensive post-production work and multiple takes, while possible, are not feasible due to the tight taping schedules and low budgets.


United States


Daytime serials on television

The first
daytime TV Daytime is a block of television programming taking place during the late-morning and afternoon on weekdays. Daytime programming is typically broadcast programming, scheduled to air between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., followin ...
soap opera in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
was ''
These Are My Children ''These Are My Children'' is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from January 31 to March 4, 1949. The show was broadcast live from WNBQ in Chicago, Illinois, airing 15 minutes a day, five days a week, at 5 p.m. EST. It is wide ...
'' in 1949, though earlier melodramas had aired in the evenings as once-a-week programs. Soap operas quickly became a fixture of American daytime television in the early 1950s, joined by
game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
s,
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word ...
s and talk shows. In 1988, H. Wesley Kenney, who at the time served as the executive producer of '' General Hospital'', said to ''
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'': Many long-running US soap operas established particular environments for their stories. '' The Doctors'' and ''General Hospital'', in the beginning, told stories almost exclusively from inside the confines of a hospital. ''
As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
'' dealt heavily with Chris Hughes' law practice and the travails of his wife Nancy who, tired of being "the loyal housewife" in the 1970s, became one of the first older women on the American serials to enter the workforce. '' Guiding Light'' dealt with Bert Bauer ( Charita Bauer) and her alcoholic husband Bill, and their endless marital troubles. When Bert's status shifted to caring mother and town matriarch, her children's marital troubles were showcased. ''
Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show fo ...
'' mostly told its story through the eyes of
Joanne Gardner Joanne "Jo" Gardner is a fictional character from the long-running soap opera ''Search for Tomorrow''. The role was played by actress Mary Stuart for the show's entire run (1951–86). Joanne was married four times, making her full legal name Jo ...
( Mary Stuart). Even when stories revolved around other characters, Joanne was frequently a key player in their storylines. '' Days of Our Lives'' initially focused on Dr. Tom Horton and his steadfast wife Alice. The show later branched out to focus more on their five children. ''
The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that netwo ...
'' featured as its central character Mike Karr, a police detective (later an attorney), and largely dealt with organized crime. ''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...
'' first focused on two families, the prosperous Brooks family with four daughters, and the working class Foster family of a single working mother with three children. Its storylines explored realistic problems including cancer, mental illness, poverty, and infidelity. In contrast, ''
Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspo ...
'' (1966–1971), ''
Port Charles ''Port Charles'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series ''General Hospital'', which has been running since 1963 and takes pl ...
'' (1997–2003) and ''
Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and ...
'' (1999–2008) featured supernatural characters and dealt with
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
and horror storylines. Their characters included vampires, witches, ghosts, goblins, and angels. The American soap opera ''Guiding Light'' (originally titled ''The Guiding Light'' until 1975) started as a radio drama in January 1937 and subsequently transferred to television in June 1952. With the exception of several years in the late 1940s, during which creator
Irna Phillips Irna Phillips (July 1, 1901 – December 23, 1973) was an American scriptwriter, screenwriter, casting agent and actress. She is best remembered for pioneering a format of the daytime soap opera in the United States geared specifically toward wo ...
was involved in a dispute with
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, ''Guiding Light'' was heard or seen nearly every weekday from 1937 to 2009, making it the longest story ever told in a broadcast medium. Originally serials were broadcast as 15-minute installments each weekday in daytime slots. In 1956, ''As the World Turns'' and ''The Edge of Night'', both produced by
Procter & Gamble Productions The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
, debuted as the first half-hour soap operas on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television network. All soap operas broadcast half-hour episodes by the end of the 1960s. With increased popularity in the 1970s, most soap operas had expanded to an hour in length by the end of the decade ('' Another World'' even expanded to 90 minutes for a short time from 1979 to 1980). More than half of the serials had expanded to one-hour episodes by 1980. As of 2012, three of the four U.S. serials air one-hour episodes each weekday; only ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' airs 30-minute episodes. Soap operas were originally broadcast live from the studio, creating what many at the time regarded as a feeling similar to that of a stage play. As nearly all soap operas were originated at that time from
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, a number of soap actors were also accomplished stage actors who performed live theater during breaks from their soap roles. In the 1960s and 1970s, new serials such as ''General Hospital'', ''Days of our Lives'' and ''The Young and the Restless'' were produced in
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. Their success made the West Coast a viable alternative to New York-produced soap operas, which were becoming more costly to perform. By the early 1970s, nearly all soap operas had transitioned to being taped. ''As the World Turns'' and ''The Edge of Night'' were the last to make the switch, in 1975. ''Port Charles'' used the practice of running 13-week "
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vid ...
s," in which the main events of the arc are played out and wrapped up over the 13 weeks, although some storylines did continue over more than one arc. According to the 2006 Preview issue of ''
Soap Opera Digest ''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 ...
'', it was briefly discussed that all
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shows might do
telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
arcs, but this was rejected. Though U.S. daytime soap operas are not generally
rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word ...
by their networks, occasionally they are rebroadcast elsewhere; CBS and ABC have made exceptions to this, airing older episodes (either those aired earlier in the current season or those aired years prior) on major holidays when special event programming is not scheduled or because of last-minute deferrals of scheduled episodes to the following day because of
breaking news Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in orde ...
coverage. ( Temporary production stoppages caused by the
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similarly resulted in CBS and ABC airing older reruns of ''The Young and the Restless'', ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' and ''General Hospital'' during the Spring and Summer of 2020 in order to ration first-run episodes and, eventually, to fill airtime after the programs ran out of new episodes to broadcast; ''Days of Our Lives'', which produces its episodes roughly eight months ahead of their initial broadcast, did not resort to airing older episodes during this time as it had a larger first-run episode backlog.) Early episodes of ''Dark Shadows'' were rerun on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
member stations in the early 1970s after the show's cancellation, and the entire series (except for a single missing episode) was rerun on the
Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. ...
in the 1990s. After ''The Edge of Night'' 1984 cancellation, reruns of the show's final five years were shown late nights on
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from 1985 to 1989. On January 20, 2000, a digital cable and
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network dedicated to the genre, Soapnet, began re-airing soaps that originally aired on ABC,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
and CBS. Newer broadcast networks since the late 1980s, such as
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and
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networks, have largely eschewed soap operas in their daytime schedules, instead running syndicated programming and reruns. No cable television outlet has produced its own daytime serial, although
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
's
The 101 Network Audience Network (also known as Audience from 2016 until 2020) was an American pay television channel that was owned by AT&T. It featured a mix of original and acquired series, specials, and feature films. The network operated as a commercial-fre ...
took over existing serial ''
Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and ...
'', continuing production for one season; while TBS and
CBN Cable Network The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its hi ...
respectively aired their own soap operas, ''
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'' (a primetime soap that utilized the daily episode format of its daytime counterparts) and '' Another Life'' (a soap that combined standard serial drama with religious overtones), during the 1980s. Fox, the fourth "major network", carried a short lived daytime soap ''
Tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
'' in 1990. Yet other than this and a couple of pilot attempts, Fox mainly stayed away from daytime soaps, and has not attempted them since their ascension to major-network status in 1994 (it did later attempt a series of daily prime time soaps, which aired on newly created sister network
MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
, but the experiment was largely a failure). Due to the masses of episodes produced for a series, release of soap operas to DVD (a popular venue for distribution of current and vintage television series) is considered impractical. With the exception of occasional specials, daytime soap operas are notable by their absence from DVD release schedules (an exception being the supernatural soap opera, ''Dark Shadows'', which did receive an essentially complete release on both VHS and DVD; the single lost episode #1219 is reconstructed by means of an off-the-air audio recording, still images, and recap material from adjacent episodes).


Performers

:''See
List of longest-serving soap opera actors Soap operas, a serialised drama produced for radio, television and internet streaming, are specifically and uniquely known for their ensemble casts and long-running characters. Many of these characters have stayed in their respective series for d ...
'' Soap opera performers in the United States are typically divided into two main groups: primary characters (sometimes referred to as "contract players" – as their portrayers signed contracts of employment – or leading characters) and secondary characters (sometimes referred to as
recurring Recurring means occurring repeatedly and can refer to several different things: Mathematics and finance *Recurring expense, an ongoing (continual) expenditure *Repeating decimal, or recurring decimal, a real number in the decimal numeral syste ...
characters). These two groups of characters make up the vast majority of the people who appear on any given soap. There are also characters who appear only for a short time as dictated by a specific storyline, and even characters who may only get a first name and no fleshed-out character history with little dialogue (these are sometimes referred to as "under-5s" since they receive under five lines of dialogue in each episode). Due to the longevity of these shows, it is not uncommon for a single character to be played by multiple actors. The key character of Mike Karr on ''The Edge of Night'' was played by three actors. Conversely, several actors have remained playing the same character for many years, or decades even.
Helen Wagner Helen Losee Wagner (September 3, 1918 – May 1, 2010) was an Emmy award winning American actress.HEVESI, DENNIS (May 3, 2010). "Helen Wagner, Longtime Actress on 'As the World Turns,' Dies at 91". ''New York Times''. Retrieved August 13, ...
played Hughes family matriarch Nancy Hughes on American soap ''As the World Turns'' from its April 2, 1956, debut through her death in May 2010. She is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the actor with the longest uninterrupted performance in a single role. A number of performers played roles for 20 years or longer, occasionally on more than one show.
Rachel Ames Rachel Kay Foulger (born November 2, 1929), known professionally as Rachel Ames, is an American film and television actress. The daughter of actors Byron Foulger and Dorothy Adams, she was raised in Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles, California ...
played
Audrey Hardy Audrey Hardy is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, ''General Hospital''. She has been portrayed by Rachel Ames on a contract basis from 1964 to 2002, and on a recurring basis from 2002 to 2007, making guest appearances in 2009, 2013, an ...
on both ''General Hospital'' and ''Port Charles'' from 1964 until 2007, and returned in 2009.
Susan Lucci Susan Victoria Lucci (born December 23, 1946) is an American actress, television host, author and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama ''All My Children'' during that show's entire network run from 1970 ...
played
Erica Kane Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American ABC Daytime soap opera ''All My Children''. The character was portrayed by actress Susan Lucci from her debut on January 16, 1970, until the last broadcast television episode on September 23, ...
in '' All My Children'' from the show's debut in January 1970 until it ended its network television run on ABC on September 23, 2011.
Erika Slezak Erika Alma Hermina Slezak (; born August 5, 1946) is an American actress, best known for her role as Victoria "Viki" Lord on the American daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' from 1971 through the television finale in 2012 and again in the ...
played
Victoria Lord Victoria Lord is a fictional character and matriarch of the Lord family on the American soap opera ''One Life to Live'', played for over 41 years by six-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress Erika Slezak. The character was created as one of th ...
#3 on '' One Life to Live'' from 1971 until the show ended its network television run on ABC on January 13, 2012, and resumed the role in its short-lived online revival on April 29, 2013. Other actors have played several characters on different shows.
Millette Alexander Millette Alexander (born August 11, 1933 in New York City) is an American actress and concert pianist, best known for having played Dr. Sara McIntyre Gantry Werner Blackford Thorpe on ''The Guiding Light'' from January 1969 to January 1983. She ...
, Bernard Barrow,
Doris Belack Doris Belack (February 26, 1926 – October 4, 2011) was an American character actress of stage, film and television. Life and career Belack was born in 1926 in New York City, the younger daughter of Isaac and Bertha Belack, Jewish immigrants ...
,
David Canary David Hoyt Canary (August 25, 1938 – November 16, 2015) was an American actor. Canary is best known for his role as ranch foreman Candy Canaday in the NBC Western drama ''Bonanza'', and as Adam Chandler in the television soap opera ''All My ...
,
Judith Chapman Judith Chapman (born Judith Shepard on November 15, 1951) is an American actress, best known for soap opera roles, particularly as Natalie Bannon Hughes in ''As the World Turns'' (1975–1978), Charlotte Greer on ''Ryan's Hope'' (1983), Ginny Bla ...
,
Jordan Charney Jordan Charney (born April 1, 1937) is an American character actor. Many of his earliest roles were on daytime television, with appearances in numerous soaps. Jordan created the role of creepy Julian Dark in the early to mid-1960s on the CBS so ...
,
Joan Copeland Joan Maxine Kupchik ( Miller; June 1, 1922 – January 4, 2022), known professionally as Joan Copeland, was an American actress. She was the younger sister of playwright Arthur Miller. She began her career during the mid-1940s, appearing in thea ...
, Nicolas Coster,
Jacqueline Courtney Jacqueline Courtney (born Sharon Courtney; September 24, 1946 – December 20, 2010) was an American actress best known for her work on daytime soap operas. Courtney's initial appearance on television came in 1951 when she performed on WAAT in ...
,
Louis Edmonds Louis Stirling Edmonds (September 24, 1923 – March 3, 2001) was an American actor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was best known for his roles in ''Dark Shadows'' and ''All My Children''. Edmonds appeared in the musical ''Ernest in Love'' in ...
,
Don Hastings Donald Francis Michael Hastings (born April 1, 1934) is a longtime American actor, singer, and writer best known for his 50-year role as Dr. Robert "Bob" Hughes on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns''. Hastings was the third actor to portra ...
,
Vincent Irizarry Vincent Michael Irizarry (born November 12, 1959) is an American actor. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 1985 and 2002, and won in 2009. Early life and education Irizarry grew up on Long Island, NY and is one of six children. He mov ...
,
Lenore Kasdorf Lenore Kasdorf (born July 23, 1948) is an American actress. She is known for her role as the alluring and promiscuous nurse Rita Stapleton Bauer, whom she played from 1975 to 1981 in the soap opera ''Guiding Light'', and for her performance as ...
,
Teri Keane Teri Louisa Keane (born October 24, 1925) is an American actress known for her work in the era of old-time radio. She was reported to have "appeared in more than 100 dramatic roles in radio and television." For a twelve-year period, from Oct 196 ...
,
Lois Kibbee Lois Kibbee (July 13, 1922 – October 18, 1993) was an American actress. Kibbee was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. The daughter of actor Milton Kibbee and the niece of actor Guy Kibbee, Kibbee played in a number of television and film roles. ...
,
John Loprieno John A. Loprieno (born October 7, 1960) is an American actor and writer. He has appeared on the soap operas ''Search for Tomorrow'' and ''As the World Turns'', but is perhaps best known for his role as Cord Roberts on the ABC soap opera '' One L ...
,
Maeve McGuire Maeve McGuire (born July 24, 1937) is an American actress, known for her role as "Nicole Travis Drake" on the soap opera ''The Edge of Night'', which she played from 1968 to 1974 and from 1975 to 1977. Nicole originally started off as a schemer b ...
, James Mitchell, Christopher Pennock,
Antony Ponzini Antony Ponzini (June 1, 1933 – December 30, 2002) was an American actor. Some of Ponzini's credits include roles on soap operas ''The Edge of Night'', '' Another World'', and being a member of the original cast of ''One Life to Live'' as Vinc ...
, William Prince, Louise Shaffer, and
Diana van der Vlis Diana Van der Vlis (June 9, 1935 - October 22, 2001) was a Canadian-American stage, screen and television actress best known for her characters Nell Beaulac, Dr. Nell Beaulac (1975–76) on the ABC soap opera ''Ryan's Hope'' and Kate Hathaway P ...
, among many others, have all played multiple soap roles.


Evolution of the daytime serial

For several decades, most daytime soap operas concentrated on family and marital discord, legal drama and romance. The action rarely left interior settings, and many shows were set in fictional, medium-sized
Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
towns. Social issue storylines were typically verboten when soaps were starting, due to heavy network-imposed censorship at that time, but writer and producer
Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon ( Eckhardt; December 10, 1922 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer, and the creator of the ABC soap operas ''One Life to Live'', ''All My Children'', as well as ''Loving'' and its spin-off '' The Ci ...
introduced these storylines slowly but surely, first in 1962 when the matriarch of ''The Guiding Light'', Bert Bauer, developed
uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the ut ...
(as the actress, Charita Bauer, had been diagnosed with the same illness in real life). The storyline encouraged many women to get
pap smear The Papanicolaou test (abbreviated as Pap test, also known as Pap smear (AE), cervical smear (BE), cervical screening (BE), or smear test (BE)) is a method of cervical screening used to detect potentially precancerous and cancerous processes in t ...
s and the CBS mailroom in New York City received a then-record amount of fan mail wishing Bauer (both Bert and Charita) well. Nixon would go on to tell many socially-relevant storylines on her soaps '' One Life to Live'' and '' All My Children'' in the late 1960s and into the 1970s. Exterior shots were slowly incorporated into the series ''The Edge of Night'' and ''Dark Shadows''. Unlike many earlier serials that were set in fictional towns, '' The Best of Everything'' and '' Ryan's Hope'' were set in a real-world location, New York City. The first exotic location shoot was made by ''All My Children'', to
St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...
in 1978. Many other soap operas planned lavish storylines after the success of the ''All My Children'' shoot. Soap operas ''Another World'' and ''Guiding Light'' both went to St. Croix in 1980, the former show culminating a long-running storyline between popular characters Mac, Rachel and Janice, and the latter to serve as an exotic setting for
Alan Spaulding Alan Spaulding is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera '' Guiding Light''. He was played by Christopher Bernau from the time of the character's introduction in 1977 until 1984, and from 1986 to June 1988, when Bernau left the role due t ...
and Rita Bauer's torrid affair. ''Search for Tomorrow'' taped for two weeks in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
in 1981. Later that year, some of the cast and crew ventured to
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
to tape a love consummation storyline between the characters of Garth and Kathy. During the 1980s, perhaps as a reaction to the evening drama series that were gaining high ratings, daytime serials began to incorporate action and adventure storylines, more big-business intrigue, and an increased emphasis on youthful romance. One of the most popular couples was
Luke Spencer and Laura Webber Luke and Laura Spencer are fictional characters, and the signature supercouple from the American daytime drama '' General Hospital''. Luke is portrayed by Anthony Geary, and Laura is portrayed by Genie Francis. Though other supercouples came b ...
on '' General Hospital''. Luke and Laura helped to attract both male and female fans. Even actress Elizabeth Taylor was a fan and at her own request was given a guest role in Luke and Laura's wedding episode. Luke and Laura's popularity led to other soap producers striving to reproduce this success by attempting to create supercouples of their own. With increasingly bizarre action storylines coming into vogue, Luke and Laura saved the world from being frozen, brought a mobster down by finding his black book in a left-handed boy statue, and helped a princess find her Aztec treasure in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. Other soap operas attempted similar adventure storylines, often featuring footage shot on location – frequently in exotic locales. During the 1990s, the mob, action and adventure stories fell out of favor with producers, due to generally declining ratings for daytime soap operas at the time. With the resultant budget cuts, soap operas were no longer able to go on expensive location shoots overseas as they were able to do in the 1980s. During that decade, soap operas increasingly focused on younger characters and social issues, such as
Erica Kane Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American ABC Daytime soap opera ''All My Children''. The character was portrayed by actress Susan Lucci from her debut on January 16, 1970, until the last broadcast television episode on September 23, ...
's drug addiction on ''All My Children'', the re-emergence of
Viki Lord Victoria Lord is a fictional character and matriarch of the Lord family on the American soap opera '' One Life to Live'', played for over 41 years by six-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress Erika Slezak. The character was created as one of th ...
's
dissociative identity disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...
on ''One Life to Live'', and
Stuart Chandler Stuart Chandler is a fictional character on American daytime drama '' All My Children''. He was a member of the powerful and wealthy Chandler family. He was portrayed by David Canary from October 1984 to May 28, 2009, and for a brief return dur ...
dealing with his wife Cindy dying of AIDS on ''All My Children''. Other social issues included
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
,
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
,
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
and
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
. Several shows during the 1990s and 2000s incorporated supernatural and science fiction elements into their storylines in an attempt to boost their ratings. One of the main characters on the earlier soap opera ''Dark Shadows'' was
Barnabas Collins Barnabas Collins is a fictional character, a featured role in the ABC daytime serial ''Dark Shadows'', which aired from 1966 to 1971. Barnabas is a 175-year-old vampire in search of fresh blood and his lost love, Josette. The character, origina ...
, a vampire, and ''One Life to Live'' featured an angel named Virgil. Both shows featured characters who traveled to and from the past. In 1995, ''Days of our Lives'' featured a storyline in which fan favorite character
Marlena Evans Marlena Evans is a fictional character on the NBC daytime drama, ''Days of Our Lives'', a long-running serial about working life in the fictional town of Salem. She has been played by actress Deidre Hall since 1976, but the character was absent f ...
was possessed by the devil, and in 1998, ''Guiding Light'' featured a cloning storyline involving legacy character
Reva Shayne Reva Shayne is a fictional character from '' Guiding Light'', played by four-time Daytime Emmy Award winner Kim Zimmer from November 28, 1983, to July 23, 1990, and August 14, 1995, until the show's final episode on September 18, 2009. Zimmer has ...
.


Traditional grammar of daytime serials

Modern U.S. daytime soap operas largely stay true to the original soap opera format. The duration and format of storylines and the visual grammar employed by U.S. daytime serials set them apart from soap operas in other countries and from evening soap operas. Stylistically, UK and Australian soap operas, which are usually produced for early evening timeslots, fall somewhere in between U.S. daytime and evening soap operas. Similar to U.S. daytime soap operas, UK and Australian serials are shot on videotape, and the cast and storylines are rotated across the week's episodes so that each cast member will appear in some but not all episodes. UK and Australian soap operas move through storylines at a faster rate than daytime serials, making them closer to U.S. evening soap operas in this regard. American daytime soap operas feature stylistic elements that set them apart from other shows: * A construct unique to U.S. daytime serials is the format where the action will cut between various conversations, returning to each at the precise moment it was left. This is the most significant distinction between U.S. daytime soap operas and other forms of U.S. television drama, which generally allow for narrative time to pass, off-screen, between the scenes depicted. On occasion, a character or characters involved a conversation earlier in that act may appear in a different setting later in the same act. * In U.S. daytime soap operas, scenes often end with a pregnant pause and a close-up on the character. There will be no dialogue for several seconds, while the music builds before cutting to a commercial or a new scene. This kind of segue is referred to in the industry as a "tag". * The traditional
three-point lighting Three-point lighting is a standard method used in visual media such as theatre, video, film, still photography, computer-generated imagery and 3D computer graphics. By using three separate positions, the photographer can illuminate the shot's su ...
set-up routinely used in
filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...
and
television production A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
is also used on daytime soap operas, sometimes with accentuated
back lighting In lighting design, backlighting is the process of illuminating the subject from the back. In other words, the lighting instrument and the viewer face each other, with the subject in between. This creates a glowing effect on the edges of the ...
to lift actors out of the background. This is useful in programs like soap operas, which are shot on videotape in small interior sets. The backlight is frequently more subtle on filmed productions shot on location and in larger sets. * Domestic interiors are often furnished with stained wood wall panels and furniture, and items of brown leather furniture. This is to give a sumptuous and luxurious look suggesting the wealth of the characters. Daytime serials often foreground other sumptuous elements of set decoration; presenting a "mid-shot of characters viewed through a frame of lavish floral displays, glittering crystal decanters or gleaming antique furniture". * Few U.S. daytime soap operas routinely feature location or exterior-shot footage (''Guiding Light'' began shooting many of its scenes outdoors in its final two seasons). Often an outdoor locale is recreated in the studio. Australian and U.K. daily soap operas invariably feature a certain amount of exterior shot footage in every episode. This is usually shot in the same location and often on a purpose-built set, with new exterior locations for particular events. * The visual quality of a soap opera is usually lower than prime time U.S. television drama series due to the lower budgets and quicker production times. This is also because soap operas are recorded on videotape using a
multi-camera setup The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneous ...
, unlike prime time productions that are usually shot on film and frequently use the
single camera The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, also known as portable single camera, is a method of filmmaking and video production. The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema i ...
shooting style. Because of the lower resolution of video images, and also because of the emotional situations portrayed in soap operas, daytime serials make heavy use of close-up shots. Programs in the United States did not make the full conversion to high definition broadcasting until September 2011, when ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' became the last soap to convert to the format; ''One Life to Live'' was an exception to this, as it continued to be produced and broadcast in
standard definition Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
– albeit in the 16:9 aspect ratio – until the end of its run on ABC in January 2012. * Soap operas have idiosyncratic blocking techniques. In one common situation, a romantically involved couple starts a conversation face-to-face, then one character will turn 180° and face away from the other character while the conversation continues. This allows both characters to appear together in a single shot, and with both of them facing the audience. This is unrealistic in real life and is not frequently seen in film or on television outside U.S. daytime serials, but it is an accepted soap opera convention, sometimes referred to as a "two shot West". * Because of the escapist tone of the genre and due to the large number of cast members employed by each program (usually totaling around 30 to 35 actors for hour-long soaps, and 15 to 25 for those lasting a half-hour), daytime soap operas have traditionally listed all contract cast members (as well as recurring and guest actors) during the
closing credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...
, instead of the opening title sequence. Until the 1990s, these series listed only a few of the principal actors at the end of the episode in certain episodes airing on Monday through Thursdays. Because of the aforementioned reasons, an extended credit sequence featuring a complete list of the show's cast members – listed alongside the characters they portray – typically airs at least once per week (usually on the Friday show; although since the 2000s, most soap operas – with ''General Hospital'' as one of the few exceptions – have randomized the day the cast list is shown). ''The Young and the Restless'' became the first American daytime soap to include the names of its contract actors in the opening credits in 1999 (although due to the large number of actors on contract with the show at one time, it utilizes different versions of the title sequence with a randomized list of about nine actors, increased from the seven listed in each version until 2017); ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' listed its entire main cast (as well as some actors appearing on a recurring basis) from 2004 to 2017, with ''General Hospital'' following suit from 2010 to 2013. ( ''The Young and the Restless'' is the only American daytime soap opera that lists the names of its main cast during both its opening titles ''and'' extended closing credit sequence.)


Decline


=Statistics and trends

= Soap opera ratings have significantly fallen in the U.S. since the 2000s. No new major daytime soap opera has been created since ''
Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and ...
'' in 1999, while many have been cancelled. As of September 2022, only four daytime soap operas – '' General Hospital'', '' Days of Our Lives'', ''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...
'' and ''
The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...
'' – are airing on two broadcast networks, down from a total of 12 soaps broadcast during the 1990–91 season and a high of 19 in the 1969–70 season. This marks the first time since 1953 that there have been only four soap operas airing on broadcast television.Waggett (1997). "Soap Opera Nielsen Ratings". ''Soap Opera Encyclopedia'', pp. 626-628. ''The Young and the Restless'', the highest-rated soap opera from 1988 to the present, had fewer than 5 million daily viewers as of February 2012, a number exceeded by several non-scripted programs such as ''
Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated courtr ...
''. Circulations of soap opera magazines have decreased and some have even ceased publication. Soapnet, which largely aired soap opera reruns, began to be phased out in 2012 and fully ceased operations the following year.Villarreal, Yvonne. "''Show Tracker: What You're Watching''
Disney Junior 24/7 channel launches Friday
" ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
Blog'', 22 March 2012. Web. 19 April 2012.
The
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 ...
s, which honor soap operas and other daytime shows, moved from prime time network television to smaller cable channels in 2012, then failed to get any TV broadcast at all in 2014, 2016, and 2017. Several of the U.S.'s most established soaps ended between 2009 and 2012. The longest-running drama in television and radio history, '' Guiding Light'', barely reached 2.1 million daily viewers in 2009 and ended on September 18 of that year, after a 72-year run (including radio). ''
As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
'' aired its final episode on September 17, 2010, after a 54-year run. ''As the World Turns'' was the last of 20 soap operas produced by Procter & Gamble, the soap and consumer goods company from which the genre got its name. ''As the World Turns'' and ''Guiding Light'' were also among the last of the soaps that originated from New York City. ''All My Children'', another New York-based soap, moved its production out to Los Angeles in an effort to reduce costs and raise sagging ratings; however, both it and ''One Life to Live'', each with a 40-year-plus run, were cancelled in 2011. '' All My Children'' aired its network finale in September 2011, with ''One Life to Live'' following suit in January 2012. Both ''All My Children'' and '' One Life to Live'' were briefly revived online in 2013, before being cancelled again that same year. In 2019, production of ''Days of Our Lives'' was put on "indefinite hiatus" and all of the cast's contracts were terminated, raising concerns within soap publications that cancellation would ensue, though the show was later renewed through September 2021. In 2022, NBC announced that ''Days of Our Lives'' would be moved to its streaming service,
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...
.


=Causes

= As women increasingly worked outside of the home, daytime television viewing declined. New generations of potential viewers were not raised watching soap operas with their mothers, leaving the shows' long and complex storylines foreign to younger audiences. As viewers age, ratings continue to drop among young adult women, the demographic group for which soap opera advertisers pay the most. Those who might watch in workplace breakrooms are not counted, as Nielsen does not track television viewing outside the home. The rise of cable and the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
has also provided new sources of entertainment during the day. The genre's decline has additionally been attributed to
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...
displacing soap operas as TV's dominant form of melodrama. An early term for the reality TV genre was ''docu-soap''. A precursor to reality TV, the televised 1994–95
O. J. Simpson murder case ''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was ...
, both preempted and competed with an entire season of soaps, transforming viewing habits and leaving soap operas with 10 percent fewer viewers after the trial ended. Daytime programming alternatives such as
talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...
s,
game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
s, and
court show A court show (also known as a judge show, legal/courtroom program, courtroom series, or judicial show) is a broadcast programming subgenre of either legal dramas or reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of lega ...
s cost up to 50% less to produce than scripted dramas, making those formats more profitable and attractive to networks, even if they receive the same or slightly lower ratings than soap operas. A network may even prefer to return a time slot to its local stations to keeping a soap opera with disappointing ratings on the air, as was the case with '' Sunset Beach'' and ''Port Charles''. Compounding the financial pressure on scripted programming in the 2007–2010 period was a decline in advertising during the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
, which led shows to reduce their budgets and cast sizes. In addition to these external factors, a litany of production decisions has been cited by soap opera fans as contributing to the genre's decline, such as clichéd plots, a lack of diversity that narrowed audience appeal, and the elimination of core families.


Current


Former


The primetime serial

Serials produced for prime time slots have also found success. The first prime time soap opera was ''
Faraway Hill ''Faraway Hill'' was the first soap opera broadcast on an American television network, airing on the DuMont Television Network on Wednesday nights at 9:00 PM between October 2 and December 18, 1946. A ''Variety'' article stated the Caples advertis ...
'' (1946), which aired on October 2, 1946, on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network. ''Faraway Hill'' ran for 12 episodes and was primarily broadcast live, interspersed with short pre-recorded film clips and still photos to remind the audience of the previous week's episode. The first long-running prime time soap opera was '' Peyton Place'' (1964–1969) on ABC. It was based in part on the eponymous 1957 film (which, in turn, was based on the 1956 novel). The popularity of ''Peyton Place'' prompted the CBS network to spin-off popular ''As the World Turns'' character Lisa Miller into her own evening soap opera, '' Our Private World'' (originally titled "The Woman Lisa" in its planning stages). ''Our Private World'' was broadcast from May to September 1965. The character of Lisa (and her portrayer
Eileen Fulton Eileen Fulton (born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty; September 13, 1933) is an American actress. She is known for her television role as Lisa on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'', a role that she played almost continuously for 50 years (with t ...
) returned to ''As The World Turns'' after the series ended. The structure of ''Peyton Place'', with its episodic plots and long-running story arcs, set the mold for the prime time serials of the 1980s, when the format reached its pinnacle. The successful prime time serials of the 1980s included ''
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
'', its spin-off '' Knots Landing'', ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
'', and '' Falcon Crest''. These shows frequently dealt with wealthy families, and their personal and big-business travails. Common characteristics were sumptuous sets and costumes, complex storylines examining business schemes and intrigue, and spectacular disaster cliffhanger situations. Each of these series featured a wealthy, domineering,
promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by ma ...
, and passionate antagonist as a key character in the storyline – respectively, J.R. Ewing ( Larry Hagman),
Abby Cunningham Abby Fairgate (formerly Cunningham, Ewing and Sumner) is a fictional character from the CBS prime time soap opera ''Knots Landing'', a long-running serial about middle class life on the fictional cul-de-sac known as Seaview Circle in Los Angele ...
(
Donna Mills Donna Mills (born Donna Jean Miller on December 11, 1940) is an American actress. She began her television career in 1966 with a recurring role on '' The Secret Storm'', and in the same year appeared on Broadway in the Woody Allen comedy '' Do ...
),
Alexis Colby Alexis Carrington Colby (; formerly Dexter and Rowan) is a fictional character on the American TV series ''Dynasty''. She is the ex-wife of Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) whose schemes cause one problem after another for him and their children. ...
(
Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...
), and
Angela Channing Angela Channing (maiden name Gioberti; formerly Erickson, Stavros and Agretti) is a fictional character on the American prime time soap opera ''Falcon Crest'', portrayed by Jane Wyman from 1981 to 1990. Angela is the devious, tyrannical owner of th ...
(
Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...
). These villainous schemers became immensely popular figures that audiences "loved to hate". Unlike daytime serials, which are shot on video in a studio using the multi-camera setup, these evening series were shot on film using a
single camera setup Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
, and featured substantial location-shot footage, often in picturesque locales. ''Dallas'', its spin-off ''Knots Landing'', and ''Falcon Crest'' all initially featured episodes with self-contained stories and specific guest stars who appeared in just that episode. Each story was completely resolved by the end of the episode, and there were no end-of-episode cliffhangers. After the first couple of seasons, all three shows changed their story format to that of a pure soap opera, with interwoven ongoing narratives that ran over several episodes. ''Dynasty'' featured this format throughout its run. The soap opera's distinctive open plot structure and complex continuity was increasingly incorporated into American prime time television programs of the period. The first significant drama series to do this was ''
Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
''. This series, produced by Steven Bochco, featured many elements borrowed from soap operas, such as an ensemble cast, multi-episode storylines, and extensive character development over the course of the series. It and the later ''
Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...
'' overlaid the police series formula with ongoing narratives exploring the personal lives and interpersonal relationships of the regular characters. The success of these series prompted other drama series, such as '' St. Elsewhere'' and situation comedy series, to incorporate serialized stories and story structure to varying degrees. The prime time soap operas and drama series of the 1990s, such as ''
Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...
'', '' Melrose Place'', ''
Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by ...
'', ''
The OC ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...
'', and ''
Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...
'', focused more on younger characters. In the 2000s, ABC began to revitalize the prime time soap opera format with shows such as '' Desperate Housewives'', ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...
'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''
Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombi ...
'', ''
Private Practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...
'', and more recently '' Revenge'', '' Nashville'', ''
Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...
'', ''
Mistresses Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...
'', and formerly '' Ringer'', which its sister production company
ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...
co-produced with
CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...
for
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
. While not soaps in the traditional sense, these shows managed to appeal to wide audiences with their high drama mixed with humor, and are soap operas by definition. These successes led to NBC's launching serials, including ''
Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
'' and '' Friday Night Lights''. The upstart MyNetworkTV, a sister network of Fox, launched a line of prime time telenovelas (a genre similar to soap operas in terms of content) upon its launch in September 2006, but discontinued its use of the format in 2007 after disappointing ratings. On June 13, 2012, ''
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
'', a continuation of the 1978 original series premiered on the cable network,
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
. The revived series, which was canceled after three seasons in 2014, delivered solid ratings for the channel, only losing viewership after the show's most established star, Larry Hagman, died midway through the series. In 2012, Nick at Nite debuted a primetime soap opera, '' Hollywood Heights'', which aired episodes five nights a week (on Monday through Fridays) in a manner similar to a daytime soap opera, instead of the once-a-week episode output common of other prime time soaps. The series, which was an adaptation of the Mexican telenovela '' Alcanzar una estrella'', suffered from low ratings (generally receiving less than 1 million viewers) and was later moved to sister cable channel
TeenNick TeenNick is an American pay-TV channel that is operated by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Aimed primarily at teens and tweens, its programming includes a variety of live-action series inherited from sister channel Nic ...
halfway through its run to
burn off In American broadcast programming, "burning off" is the custom of quickly airing the remaining episodes of a television program, usually one that has already been or is planned to be cancelled, without the intent to attract a large number of vi ...
the remaining episodes. In 2015, Fox debuted ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'', a prime time musical serial centering on the power struggle between family members within the titular recording company. Created by
Lee Daniels Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter. His first producer credit was ''Monster's Ball'' (2001), for which Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress, making Daniels ...
and
Danny Strong Daniel William Strong (born June 6, 1974) is an American actor, film and television writer, director, and producer. As an actor, Strong is best known for his roles as Jonathan Levinson in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and Doyle McMaster in ''Gilmo ...
and led by
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
nominees
Terrence Howard Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films ''Dead Presidents'' and '' Mr. Holland's Opus'', Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema roles ...
and Taraji P. Henson, the drama premiered to high ratings. The show is strongly influenced by other works such as
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...
'',
James Goldman James Goldman (June 30, 1927 – October 28, 1998) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He won an Academy Award for his screenplay '' The Lion in Winter'' (1968). His younger brother was novelist and screenwriter William Goldman. Biog ...
's ''
The Lion in Winter ''The Lion in Winter'' is a 1966 play by James Goldman, depicting the personal and political conflicts of Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their children and their guests during Christmas 1183. It premiered on Broadway at the ...
'' and the 1980s soap opera ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
''. Also in 2015, E! introduced '' The Royals'', a series following the life and drama of a fictional English Royal family, which was also inspired by ''Dynasty'' (even featuring
Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...
as the Queen's mother). In addition, ABC debuted a prime time soap opera ''
Blood & Oil ''Blood & Oil'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Josh Pate and Rodes Fishburne, that premiered on ABC on September 27, 2015. The series follows a young couple that moves to fictitious Rock Springs, North Dakota, afte ...
'', following a young couple looking to make money off the modern-day Williston oil boom, premiering on September 27, 2015.


List of primetime serials


Telenovelas

The
telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
, a shorter-form format of serial melodrama, shares some thematic and especially stylistic similarity to the soap opera, enough that the colloquialism ''Spanish soap opera'' has arisen to describe the format. The chief difference between the two is length of series; while soap operas usually have indefinite runs, telenovelas typically have a central
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vid ...
with a prescribed ending within a year or two of the show's launch, requiring more concise storytelling. Spanish-language networks, chiefly
Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
and
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...
, have found success airing telenovelas for the growing U.S. Hispanic market. Both originally produced and imported Latin American dramas (as well as imported Turkish dramas since the 2020s) are popular features of the networks' daytime and primetime lineups, sometimes beating English-language networks in the ratings.


Online serials

Some
web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...
are soap operas, such as '' Degrassi: In Session'' or '' Venice: The Series''. In 2013, production company Prospect Park revived ''All My Children'' and ''One Life to Live'' for the web, retaining original creator
Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon ( Eckhardt; December 10, 1922 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer, and the creator of the ABC soap operas ''One Life to Live'', ''All My Children'', as well as ''Loving'' and its spin-off '' The Ci ...
as a consultant and keeping many of the same actors (Prospect Park purchased the rights to both series months after their cancellations by ABC in 2011, although it initially suspended plans to relaunch the soaps later that same year due to issues receiving approval from acting and production unions). Each show initially produced four half-hour episodes a week, but quickly cut back to two half-hour episodes each. In the midst of (though not directly related to) a lawsuit between Prospect Park and ABC, the experiment ended that same year, with both shows being canceled again.


Turkey

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
is the second largest exporter of television soap operas. In 2016, Turkish TV exports earned $350 million, making it the second largest drama exporter in the world behind the United States. Turkish soap operas have a large following across
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
,
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
,
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
, and
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.


United Kingdom

Soap operas in the UK began on radio and consequently were associated with the BBC. It had resisted soaps as antithetical to its quality image, but began broadcasting '' Front Line Family'' in April 1941 on its North American shortwave service to encourage American intervention on Britain's behalf in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The BBC continues to broadcast the world's longest-running radio soap, ''
The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...
'', which first aired in May 1950, and has been running nationally since 1951. It is currently broadcast on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
and continues to attract over five million listeners, or roughly 25% of the radio listening population of the UK at that time of the evening. In the UK, soap operas are one of the most popular genres, with most being broadcast during prime time. Most UK soap operas focus on everyday, working-class communities, influenced by the conventions of the
kitchen sink drama Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a British cultural movement that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose protagonists usually could be described as "angry young men" w ...
. The most popular soap operas in the United Kingdom are '' Coronation Street'', '' EastEnders'', ''
Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ...
'', ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...
'', '' Doctors'', and the Australian produced '' Neighbours'' and '' Home and Away''. The first three of these are consistently among the highest-rated shows on British television."Tracking 30 years of TV's most watched programmes"
BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2015
Such is the magnitude of the popularity of the soap genre in the UK that all television serials in the country are reputedly enjoyed by members of the British Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth II herself. Major events in
British culture British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the impact of the British Empire ...
are often mentioned in the storyline, such as England's participation at the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
, and the death of
Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
. Since 1999,
The British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies gi ...
has been televised on ITV. The 1986
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
episode of ''EastEnders'' is often referred to as the highest-rated UK soap opera episode ever, with 30.15 million viewers (more than half the population at the time). The figure of 30.15 million was actually a combination of the original broadcast, which had just over 19 million viewers, and the Sunday omnibus edition with 10 million viewers. The combined 30.15 million audience figure makes the aforementioned Christmas Day 1986 episode of ''EastEnders'' the highest-rated single-channel broadcast in the history of UK television. Overall it ranks third behind the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final (32.3 million viewers) and Princess Diana's funeral in 1997 (32.1 million viewers) which were transmitted on both
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
and ITV.


Television

An early television serial was ''
The Grove Family ''The Grove Family'' was a British television series soap opera, generally regarded as the first of its kind broadcast in the UK, made and broadcast by the BBC Television Service from 1954 to 1957. The series concerned the life of the family of ...
'' on the BBC, which produced 148 episodes from 1954 to 1957. The programme was broadcast live and only a handful of recordings were retained in the archives. The UK's first twice-weekly serial was ITV's '' Emergency - Ward 10'', running from 1957 until 1967. In the 1960s, '' Coronation Street'' revolutionised UK television and quickly became a British institution. On 17 September 2010, it became the world's longest-running television soap opera and was listed in ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
''. The BBC also produced several serials: ''
Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...
'' was about the staff of a women's magazine; '' The Newcomers'' was about the upheaval caused by a large firm setting up a plant in a small town; ''
United! ''United!'' is a British television series which was produced by the BBC between 1965 and 1967, and was broadcast twice-weekly on BBC1. The series followed the fortunes of a fictional second division football team, Brentwich United. The footba ...
'' contained 147 episodes and focused on a football team; '' 199 Park Lane'' (1965) was an upper class serial, which ran for only 18 episodes. None of these serials came close to making the same impact as ''Coronation Street''. Indeed, most of the 1960s BBC serials were largely
wiped Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...
. During the 1960s, ''Coronation Street'' main rival was '' Crossroads'', a daily serial that began in 1964 and aired on ITV in the early evening. ''Crossroads'' was set in a
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
motel and, although the program was popular, its purported low technical standard and bad acting were much mocked. By the 1980s, its ratings had begun to decline. Several attempts to revamp the program through cast changes and, later, expanding the focus from the motel to the surrounding community were unsuccessful. ''Crossroads'' was cancelled in 1988 (a new version of ''Crossroads'' was later produced, running from 2001 until 2003). A later rival to ''Coronation Street'' was ITV's ''
Emmerdale Farm ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
'' (later renamed ''Emmerdale''), which began in 1972 in a daytime slot and was set in rural
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. Increased viewership resulted in ''Emmerdale'' being moved to a prime-time slot in the 1980s. ''
Pobol y Cwm ''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC One Wales and l ...
'' (''People of the Valley'') is a
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...
serial that has been produced by the BBC since October 1974, and is the longest-running television soap opera produced by the broadcaster. ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally broadcast on BBC Wales television from 1974 to 1982; it was then moved to the Welsh-language television station S4C when it opened in November 1982. The program was occasionally shown on
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
in London during periods of regional optout in the mid- to late 1970s. ''Pobol y Cwm'' was briefly shown in the rest of the UK in 1994 on BBC2, with English subtitles; it is consistently the most watched programme each week on S4C.


1980s

Daytime soap operas were non-existent until the 1970s because there was virtually no daytime television in the UK. ITV introduced '' General Hospital'', which later moved to a prime time slot. In 1980,
Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is th ...
debuted ''
Take the High Road ''Take the High Road'' (renamed ''High Road'' from 1994 to 2003) was a Scottish soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV network daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in the ficti ...
'', which lasted for over twenty years. Later, daytime slots were filled with an influx of Australian soap operas such as ''
The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-cla ...
'' (aired on ITV from 1977), ''
The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday, 8 November 1976 until Wednesday, 30 March 1983. The series is prima ...
'' (from 1982), '' Sons and Daughters'' (from 1983), '' A Country Practice'' (from 1982), '' Richmond Hill'' (from 1988 to 1989) and eventually, ''Neighbours'' was acquired by the BBC in 1986, and ''Home and Away'' aired on ITV beginning in 1989. These achieved significant levels of popularity; ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' were moved to early-evening slots, helping begin the UK soap opera boom in the late 1980s. The day
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
began operations in 1982 it launched its own soap, the
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
-based ''
Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...
'', which would redefine soaps over the next decade. The focus of ''Brookside'' was different from earlier soap operas in the UK; it was set in a middle-class new-build cul-de-sac, unlike ''Coronation Street'' and ''Emmerdale Farm'', which were set in established working-class communities. The characters in ''Brookside'' were generally either people who had advanced themselves from inner-city council estates, or the upper middle-class who had fallen on hard times. Though ''Brookside'' was still broadcast in a pre- watershed slot (8.00 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. on weekdays, around 5.00 p.m. for the omnibus on Saturdays), it was more liberal than other soaps of the time: the dialogue regularly included expletives. This stemmed from the overall more liberal policy of the channel during that period. The soap was also heavily politicised. Bobby Grant (
Ricky Tomlinson Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in '' Brookside'', DCI Charlie Wise in ''Cracker'' and Jim Royle in '' The Royle Family'', and playing the titular cha ...
), a militant trade-unionist anti-hero, was the most overtly political character. Storylines were often more sensationalist than on other soaps (throughout the soap's history, there were two armed sieges on the street) and were staged with more violence (particularly,
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
) often being featured. In 1985, the BBC's ''EastEnders'' debuted and became a near instant success with viewers and critics alike, with the first episode attracting over 17 million viewers. The Christmas Day 1986 episode was watched by 30.15 million viewers and contained a scene in which
divorce papers Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
were served to
Angie Watts Angie Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the series until 1988, when Dobson decided to leave, and the character was written out. Angie is well known for her ...
(
Anita Dobson Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949) is an English stage, film and television actress, and singer. She is best known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 1986, she reached number four in the UK Si ...
) by her husband,
Queen Vic The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders''. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20. Appearance and developmen ...
landlord Den ( Leslie Grantham). A notable success in pioneering late-night broadcasting, in October 1984,
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
began airing the cult Australian soap opera ''
Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...
'', which originally ran from 1979 to 1986. It was eventually broadcast on all regions of the UK in differing slots, usually around 23:00 (but never before 22:30 in any region), under the title ''Prisoner: Cell Block H''. It was probably most popular in the Midlands where Central Television consistently broadcast the serial three times a week from 1987 to 1991. Its airing in the UK was staggered, so different regions of the country saw it at a different pace. The program was immensely successful, regularly achieving 10 million viewers when all regions' ratings per episode were added together. Central bowed to fan pressure to repeat the soap, of which the first 95 episodes aired. Then, rival station Channel 5 also acquired rights to repeat the entire rerun of the program, starting in 1997. All 692 episodes have since been released on DVD in the UK.


1990s

In 1992, the BBC made ''
Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
'' to daily alternate with ''EastEnders''. The programme was heavily criticised and only lasted one year. Nevertheless, soap operas gained increasing prominence on UK television schedules. In 1995, Channel 4 premiered ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...
'', a soap with a youth focus. When Channel 5 launched in March 1997, it debuted the soap opera ''
Family Affairs ''Family Affairs'' is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per w ...
'', which was formatted as a week-daily soap, airing Monday through Fridays. ''Brookside'' premise evolved during the 1990s, phasing out the politicised stories of the 1980s and shifting the emphasis to controversial and sensationalist stories such as child rape,
sibling incest Siblings play a unique role in one another's lives that simulates the companionship of parents as well as the influence and assistance of friends. Because siblings often grow up in the same household, they have a large amount of exposure to one ano ...
, religious cults and drug addiction, including the infamous 'body under the patio' storyline that ran from 1993 to 1995, and gave the serial its highest ratings ever with 9 million viewers. ''Coronation Street'' and ''Brookside'' began releasing straight-to-video features. The ''Coronation Street'' releases generally kept the pace and style of conventional programs episodes with the action set in foreign locations. The ''Brookside'' releases were set in the usual locations, but featured stories with adult content not allowed on television pre-watershed, with these releases given '18' certificates. ''Emmerdale Farm'' was renamed ''Emmerdale'' in 1989. The series was revamped in 1993 with many changes executed via the crash of a passenger jet that partially destroyed the village and killed several characters. This attracted criticism as it was broadcast near the fifth anniversary of the
Lockerbie bombing Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boe ...
. The storyline drew the soap its highest ever audience of 18 million viewers. The revamp was a success and ''Emmerdale'' grew in popularity. Throughout the 1990s, ''Brookside'', ''Coronation Street'', ''EastEnders'' and ''Emmerdale'' continued to flourish. Each increased the number of episodes that aired on a weekly basis by at least one, further defining soap operas as the leading genre in British television.


2000s

Since 2000, new soap operas have continued to be developed. Daytime serial '' Doctors'' began in March 2000, preceding ''Neighbours'' on BBC One and has since become the BBC's flagship daytime series. In 2002, as ratings for the Scottish serial ''High Road'' (formerly ''Take The High Road'') continued to decline, BBC Scotland launched ''
River City ''River City'' is a Scottish television soap opera that was first broadcast on BBC One Scotland on 24 September 2002. ''River City'' follows the lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch. In November 2017, a s ...
'', which proved popular and effectively replaced ''High Road'' when it was cancelled in 2003. The long-running serial ''Brookside'' ended in November 2003 after 21 years on the air, leaving ''Hollyoaks'' as Channel 4's flagship serial. A new version of ''Crossroads'' featuring a mostly new cast was produced by Carlton Television for ITV in 2001. It did not achieve high ratings and was cancelled in 2003. In 2001, ITV also launched a new early-evening serial entitled '' Night and Day''. This program too attracted low viewership and, after being shifted to a late night time slot, was cancelled in 2003. ''Family Affairs'', which was broadcast opposite the racier ''Hollyoaks'', never achieved significantly high ratings leading to several dramatic casting revamps and marked changes in style and even location over its run. By 2004, ''Family Affairs'' had a larger fan base and won its first awards, but was cancelled in late 2005. In 2008, ITV premiered ''
The Royal Today ''The Royal Today'' is a British medical soap opera, and a spin-off of the similarly themed drama, ''The Royal ''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast o ...
'', a daily spin-off of popular 1960s-based drama ''
The Royal ''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast on ITV1 from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the ...
'', which had been running in a primetime slot since 2002. Just days later, soap opera
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
programs ''
Echo Beach "Echo Beach" is a song recorded by the Canadian group Martha and the Muffins in 1979. Written by band member Mark Gane, it was released as a single from their album '' Metro Music'' in 1980 and went on to reach number 5 in Canada, number 6 in Aus ...
'' premiered alongside its sister show, the comedy ''
Moving Wallpaper ''Moving Wallpaper'' is a British satirical comedy-drama television series set in a TV production unit. It ran on ITV for two series in 2008–09. The subject of the first series was the production of a soap called ''Echo Beach'', each episode ...
''. Both ''Echo Beach'' and ''The Royal Today'' ended after just one series due to low ratings. Radio soap opera ''
Silver Street ''Silver Street'' is a radio soap opera broadcast on the BBC Asian Network from 24 May 2004 to 26 March 2010. It was the first soap to be aimed at the British South Asian community, Broadcast history It was introduced in 2004 as part of the S ...
'' debuted on the
BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British Asian radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially British Asians between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has ...
in 2004. Poor ratings and criticism of the program led to its cancellation in 2010.


Format

UK soap operas for many years usually only aired two nights a week. The exception was the original ''Crossroads'', which began as a week-daily soap opera in the 1960s, but later had its number of weekly broadcasts reduced. In 1989, ''Coronation Street'' began airing three times a week. In 1996, it expanded to four episodes a week. ''Brookside'' premiered in 1982 with two episodes a week. In 1990 it expanded to three episodes a week. ''EastEnders'' increased its number of episodes a week in 1994 and ''Emmerdale'' did so in 1997. ''Family Affairs'' debuted as a weekdaily soap in 1997, producing five episodes a week its entire run. In 2004, ''Emmerdale'' began airing six episodes a week. In a January 2008 overhaul of the ITV network, the Sunday episodes of ''Coronation Street'' and ''Emmerdale'' were moved out of their slots. ''Coronation Street'' added a second episode on Friday evenings at 8:30 p.m. ''Emmerdale'' Tuesday edition was extended to an hour, putting it in direct competition with ''EastEnders''. In July 2009, the schedules of these serials were changed again. On 23 July 2009, ''Coronation Street'' moved from the Wednesday slot it held for 49 years, to Thursday evenings. ''Emmerdale'' reverted to running just one 30-minute episode on Tuesday evenings and the other 30-minute installment was moved to Thursday evenings. ''Coronation Street'' later returned to a Wednesday slot, to air Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 19:30 and 20:30. ''Emmerdale'' airs at 19:00 every weeknight, and 20:00 on Thursdays. Later, ''Coronation Street'' (which began airing two episodes on Monday nights in 2002) produced five episodes a week. It was announced in June 2016 that starting late 2017, ''Coronation Street'' would air six episodes a week. ''Doctors'' airs five episodes a week, and is the only soap without a weekend omnibus repeat screening. ''Hollyoaks'' produces five episodes a week. The imported ''Neighbours'' screens as five new episodes a week. As of 2019, ''EastEnders'' produces four episodes a week. UK soap operas are shot on videotape in the studio using a multi-camera setup. In their early years, ''Coronation Street'' and ''Emmerdale'' used 16 mm film for footage shot on location. Since the 1980s, UK soap opera have routinely featured scenes shot outdoors in each episode. This footage is shot on videotape on a purpose-built outdoor set that represents the community that the soap focuses on. ''Hollyoaks'' and ''Family Affairs'' were taped on high-definition video, and used the
filmizing Film look (also known as filmizing or film-look) is a process in which video is altered in overall appearance to appear to have been shot on film stock. The process is usually electronic, although filmizing can sometimes occur as an unintentional ...
process.


Australia

:''See
List of longest-serving soap opera actors Soap operas, a serialised drama produced for radio, television and internet streaming, are specifically and uniquely known for their ensemble casts and long-running characters. Many of these characters have stayed in their respective series for d ...
'' Australia has had quite a number of well-known soap operas, some of which have gained cult followings in the United Kingdom,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and other countries. The majority of Australian television soap operas are produced for early evening or evening timeslots. They usually produce two or two-and-a-half hours of new material each week, either arranged as four or five half-hour episodes a week, or as two one-hour episodes. Stylistically, these series most closely resemble UK soap operas in that they are nearly always shot on videotape, are mainly recorded in a studio and use a
multi-camera setup The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneous ...
. The original Australian serials were shot entirely in-studio. During the 1970s occasional filmed inserts were used to incorporate sequences shot outdoors. Outdoor shooting later became commonplace and starting in the late 1970s, it became standard practice for some on-location footage to be featured in each episode of any Australian soap opera, often to capitalise on the attractiveness and exotic nature of these locations for international audiences.Bowles, p. 120. Most Australian soap operas focus on a mixed age range of middle-class characters and will regularly feature a range of locations where the various, disparate characters can meet and interact, such as the café, the surf club, the wine bar or the school.


Early serials

The genre began in Australia on radio, as it had in the United States and the United Kingdom. One such radio serial, ''Big Sister'', featured actress
Thelma Scott Thelma Marjorie Scott (17 June 1913 – 23 November 2006) was an Australian character actress whose six-decade career in theatre, radio, film and Australian made her one of her country's most recognisable and beloved personalities. Having st ...
in the cast and aired nationally for five years beginning in 1942. Probably the best known Australian radio serial was the long-running soap opera '' Blue Hills'', which was created by Gwen Meredith and ran from 1949 to 1976. With the advent of Australian television in 1956, daytime television serials followed. The first Australian television soap opera was '' Autumn Affair'' (1958) featuring radio personality and ''Blue Hills'' star
Queenie Ashton Ethel Muriel Ashton (11 November 190321 October 1999), known professionally as Queenie Ashton, was a character actress, born in England, who had a long career in Australia as a theatre performer and radio personality, best known for her radio ...
making the transition to television. Each episode of this serial ran for 15 minutes and aired each weekday on the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
. ''Autumn Affair'' failed to secure a sponsor and ended in 1959 after 156 episodes. It was followed by ''
The Story of Peter Grey ''The Story of Peter Grey'' was an Australian television daytime soap opera produced by the Seven Network and first broadcast in July 1962 . James Condon starred in the title role as a church minister, with other cast members including The ...
'' (1961), another Seven Network weekday series aired in a daytime slot in 15-minute installments. ''The Story of Peter Grey'' ran for 164 episodes. The first successful wave of Australian evening television soap operas started in 1967 with '' Bellbird'', produced by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
. This rural-based serial screened in an early evening slot in 15-minute installments as a lead-in to the evening news. ''Bellbird'' was a moderate success but built-up a consistent and loyal viewer base, especially in rural areas, and enjoyed a ten-year run. ''
Motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...
'' (1968) was Australia's first half-hour soap opera; the daytime soap had a short run of 132 episodes.


The 1970s

The first major soap opera hit in Australia was the sex-melodrama ''
Number 96 96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when turned upside down. In mathematics 96 is: * an octagonal number. * a refactorable number. * an untouchable number. * a semiperfe ...
'', a nighttime series produced by Cash Harmon Television for
Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
, which debuted March 1972. The program dealt with such topics as
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
,
adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
, drug use, rape-within-marriage and
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
, which had rarely been explored on Australian television programs before. The series became famous for its sex scenes and nudity and for its comedic characters, many of whom became cult heroes in Australia. By 1973, ''Number 96'' had become Australia's highest-rated show. In 1974, the sexed-up antics of ''Number 96'' prompted the creation of '' The Box'', which rivaled it in terms of nudity and sexual situations and was scheduled in a nighttime slot. Produced by
Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfor ...
, many critics considered ''The Box'' to be a more slickly produced and better written show than ''Number 96''. ''The Box'' also aired on the Ten Network, programmed to run right after ''Number 96''. For 1974 ''Number 96'' was again the highest rating show on Australian television, and that year ''The Box'' occupied the number two spot. Also in 1974, the
Reg Grundy Organisation Reg Grundy Organisation (founded as Reg Grundy Enterprises, later known as both Reg Grundy Productions and Grundy Television and known informally as Grundy's) was an Australian-based multinational mass media company, primarily involved in tele ...
created its first soap opera, and significantly Australia's first ''teen'' soap opera, '' Class of '74''. With its attempts to hint at the sex and sin shown more openly on ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'', its high school setting and early evening timeslot, ''Class of '74'' came under intense scrutiny from the Broadcasting Control Board, who vetted scripts and altered entire storylines. By 1975, both ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'', perhaps as a reaction to declining ratings for both shows, de-emphasised the sex and nudity shifting more towards comedic plots. ''Class of '74'' was renamed ''Class of '75'' and also added more slapstick comedy for its second year, but the revamped show's ratings declined, resulting in its cancellation in mid-1975. That year Cash Harmon's newly launched second soap '' The Unisexers'' failed in its early evening slot and was cancelled after three weeks; the Reg Grundy Organisation's second soap '' Until Tomorrow'' ran in a daytime slot for 180 episodes. A feature film version of ''Bellbird'' entitled ''Country Town'' was produced in 1971 by two of the show's stars, Gary Gray and Terry McDermott, without production involvement by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'' also released feature film versions, both of which had the same title as the series, released in 1974 and 1975 respectively. As Australian television had broadcast in black and white until 1975, these theatrical releases all had the novelty of being in colour. The film versions of ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'' also allowed more explicit nudity than could be shown on television at that time. In November 1976 ''
The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday, 8 November 1976 until Wednesday, 30 March 1983. The series is prima ...
'' debuted on the Nine Network. This Grundy Organization series eschewed the adult drama of ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'', focusing more on relationship drama and romance. It became a popular success but received few critical accolades. A week later ''
The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-cla ...
'', a carefully produced period serial chronicling the effects of World War II on a
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
family, also debuted on Nine. Produced by Crawford Productions, ''The Sullivans'' became a ratings success, attracted many positive reviews, and won television awards. During this period ''Number 96'' re-introduced nudity into its episodes, with several much-publicised full-frontal nude scenes, a cast revamp and a new range of shock storylines designed to boost the show's declining ratings. ''Bellbird'' experienced changes to its broadcast pattern with episodes screening in 60 minute blocks, and later in 30 minute installments. ''Bellbird'', ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'', which had been experiencing declining ratings, were cancelled in 1977. Various attempts to revamp each of the shows with cast reshuffles or spectacular disaster storylines had proved only temporarily successful. ''The Young Doctors'' and ''The Sullivans'' continued to be popular. November 1977 saw the launch of successful soap opera/ police procedural series ''
Cop Shop ''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes. The show The show revolved ar ...
'' (1977–1984) produced by Crawford Productions for Channel Seven. In early December 1977 Channel Ten debuted the Reg Grundy Organisation produced ''
The Restless Years ''The Restless Years'' is an Australian soap opera which followed the lives of several Sydney school-leavers and the drama and relationships faced by young adults. It was created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for N ...
'' (1977–1981), a more standard soap drama focusing on several young school leavers. The Seven Network, achieving success with ''Cop Shop'' produced by Crawford Productions, had Crawfords produce '' Skyways'', a series with a similar format but set in an airport, to compete with the Nine Network's popular talk show ''
The Don Lane Show ''The Don Lane Show'' was an Australian television talk show which aired twice a week on the Nine Network from 1975 to 1983. The show was created by Don Lane who co-hosted it with Bert Newton. Channel Nine was reluctant to cast Bert Newton, ...
''. ''Skyways'', which debuted in July 1979, emphasised adult situations including homosexuality, marriage problems, adultery, prostitution, drug use and smuggling, crime, suicide, political intrigue, and murder, and featured some nudity. Despite this, the program achieved only moderate ratings and was cancelled in mid-1981.


The 1980s

The Reg Grundy Organisation found major success with the women's-prison drama ''
Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...
'' (1979–1986) on Network Ten, and melodramatic
family saga The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often ...
''Sons and Daughters'' (1982–1987) on the Seven Network. Both shows achieved high ratings in their original runs, and unusually, found success in repeats after the programs ended. Grundy soap ''The Young Doctors'' and Crawford Productions' ''The Sullivans'' continued on the Nine Network until late 1982. Thereafter Nine attempted many new replacement soap operas produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation: ''
Taurus Rising ''Taurus Rising'' is an Australian soap opera produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Nine Network in 1982. Originally intended by the network to be a replacement for ''The Sullivans'', the series was one of a number of attempts to pr ...
'' (1982), ''
Waterloo Station Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...
'' (1983), ''
Starting Out ''Starting Out'' is an Australian television soap opera made for the Nine Network by the Reg Grundy Organisation in 1983. Background The five-night-a-week series was created by Reg Watson as the network's replacement for the long-running s ...
'' (1983) and '' Possession'' (1985), along with '' Prime Time'' (1986) produced by Crawford Productions. None of these programs were successful and most were cancelled after only a few months. The Reg Grundy Organisation also created '' Neighbours'', a suburban-based daily serial devised as a sedate family drama with some comedic and lightweight situations, for the Seven Network in 1985. Produced in Melbourne at the studios of
HSV-7 HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melb ...
, ''Neighbours'' achieved high ratings in Melbourne,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
and
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, but not in Sydney, where it aired at 5.30 p.m. placing it against the hit dating game show '' Perfect Match'' on Channel 10. The Seven Network's Sydney station
ATN-7 ATN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of John Fairfax & Sons, was one of the first four licences (two in Sydney, ...
quickly lost interest in ''Neighbours'' as a result of the low ratings in Sydney. HSV-7 in Melbourne lobbied heavily to keep ''Neighbours'' on the air, but ATN-7 managed to convince the rest of the network to cancel the show and instead keep ATN-7's own Sydney-based dramas ''A Country Practice'' and ''Sons and Daughters''. After the network cancelled ''Neighbours'', it was immediately picked up by Channel Ten, which revamped the cast and scripts slightly and aired the series in the 7.00 p.m. slot starting 20 January 1986. It initially attracted low audiences; however, after a concerted publicity drive, Ten managed to transform the series into a major success, turning several of its actors into major international stars. The show's popularity eventually declined and it was moved to the 6.30 p.m. slot in 1992. In January 2011 it moved to Eleven and ended after 8,903 episodes on 28th July 2022. In November 2022,
Amazon Freevee Amazon Freevee is an American ad-supported video-on-demand (VOD) streaming service owned by Amazon, with original and licensed programming. History Amazon Freevee launched as a free, ad-supported video channel by the Amazon-owned online data ...
revived the show with an order of 400 episodes to begin airing in 2023. It is Australia's longest-running soap opera. The success of ''Neighbours'' in the 1980s prompted the creation of somewhat similar suburban and family or teen-oriented soap operas such as '' Home and Away'' (1988–present) on Channel Seven and ''Richmond Hill'' (1988) on Channel Ten. Both proved popular, however ''Richmond Hill'' emerged as only a moderate success and was cancelled after one year to be replaced on Ten by '' E Street'' (1989–1993). Nine continued trying to establish a successful new soap opera, without success. After the failure of family drama ''
Family and Friends ''Family and Friends'' is a short-lived Australian television soap opera which debuted on 7 February 1990.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 p 169 The series was intended to be the Nine Network's response to t ...
'' in 1990, it launched the raunchier and more extreme '' Chances'' in 1991, which resurrected the sex and melodrama of ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'' in an attempt to attract attention. ''Chances'' achieved only moderate ratings, and was moved to a late-night timeslot. It underwent several revamps that removed much of the original cast, and refocused the storylines to incorporate science-fiction and fantasy elements. The series continued in a late night slot until 1992, when it was cancelled due to low ratings despite the much-discussed fantasy storylines.


Australian soaps internationally

Several Australian soap operas have also found significant international success. In the UK, starting in the mid-1980s, daytime broadcasts of ''The Young Doctors'', ''The Sullivans'', ''Sons and Daughters'' and ''Neighbours'' (which itself was subsequently moved to an early-evening slot) achieved significant success. Grundy's ''Prisoner'' began airing in the United States in 1979 and achieved high ratings in many regions there, however, the show ended its run in that country three years into its run. ''Prisoner'' also aired in late-night timeslots in the UK beginning in the late 1980s, achieving enduring cult success there. The show became so popular in that country that it prompted the creation of two stage plays and a stage musical based on the show, all of which toured the UK, among many other spin-offs. In the late 1990s, Channel 5 repeated ''Prisoner'' in the UK. Between 1998 and 2005, Channel 5 ran late-night repeats of ''Sons and Daughters''. During the 1980s, the Australian attempts to emulate big-budget U.S. soap operas such as ''Dallas'' and ''Dynasty'' had resulted in the debuts of ''Taurus Rising'' and ''
Return to Eden ''Return to Eden'' is an Australian television drama series starring Rebecca Gilling, James Reyne, Wendy Hughes and James Smillie. It began as a three-part, six-hour mini-series shown on Network Ten on September 27–29, 1983. Gilling and Sm ...
'', two slick soap opera dramas with big budgets that were shot entirely on film. Though their middling Australian ratings resulted in the shows running only for a single season, both programs were successfully sold internationally. Other shows to achieve varying levels of international success include ''Richmond Hill'', ''E Street'', ''
Paradise Beach ''Paradise Beach'' is an Australian television series made by Village Roadshow Pictures. It was made in association with America's Genesis Entertainment which later merged with New World Television for the Nine Network, and aired between 1993 ...
'' (1993–1994), and '' Pacific Drive'' (1995–1997). Indeed, these last two series were designed specifically for international distribution. Channel Seven's '' Home and Away'', a teen soap developed as a rival to '' Neighbours'', has also achieved significant and enduring success on UK television.


The 1990s and beyond

''
Something in the Air "Something in the Air" is a song by English rock band Thunderclap Newman, written by Speedy Keen who also sang the song. It was a No. 1 single for three weeks in the UK Singles Chart in July 1969. The song has been used for films, television ...
'', a serial examining a range of characters in a small country town ran on the ABC from 2000 to 2002. Attempts to replicate the success of daily teen-oriented serials ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' saw the creation of ''
Echo Point ''Echo Point'' is an Australian television soap opera produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group for Network Ten on 1 June 1995 until 1 December 1995. The series was devised as an attempt by the Ten Network to rival the opposition soap ...
'' (1995) and '' Breakers'' (1999) on Network Ten. These programs foregrounded youthful attractive casts and appealing locations but the programs were not long-running successes and ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' remained the most visible and consistently successful Australian soap operas in production. In their home country, they both attracted respectable although not spectacular ratings in the early 2000s. By 2004, ''Neighbours'' was regularly attracting just under a million viewers per episode – considered at that time a low figure for Australian prime time television. By March 2007, the Australian audience for ''Neighbours'' had fallen to fewer than 700,000 a night. This prompted a revamp of the show's cast, its visual presentation, and a move away from the recently added action-oriented emphasis to refocus the show on the domestic storylines it is traditionally known for. During this period ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' continued to achieve significant ratings in the UK. This and other lucrative overseas markets, along with Australian broadcasting laws that enforce a minimum amount of domestic drama production on commercial television networks, help ensure that both programs remain in production. Both shows get higher total ratings in the UK than in Australia (the UK has three times the total population of Australia) and the UK channels make a major contribution to the production costs. It has been suggested that with their emphasis on the younger, attractive and charismatic characters, ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' have found success in the middle ground between glamorous, fantastic U.S. soaps with their wealthy but tragic heroes and the more grim, naturalistic UK soap operas populated by older, unglamorous characters. The casts of ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' are predominantly younger and more attractive than the casts of UK soaps, and without excessive wealth and glamour of the U.S. daytime serial, a middle-ground in which they have found their lucrative niche. ''Neighbours'' was carried in the United States on the
Oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...
cable channel in March 2004; however it attracted few viewers, perhaps in part due to its scheduling opposite well-established and highly popular U.S. soap operas such as ''All My Children'' and ''The Young and the Restless'', and was dropped by the network shortly afterwards due to low ratings. '' headLand'' made its debut on Channel Seven in November 2005, the series arose out of a proposed spinoff of ''Home and Away'' that was to have been produced in conjunction with ''Home and Away'' UK broadcaster, Channel 5. The idea for the spin-off was scuttled after Five pulled out of the deal, which meant that the show could potentially air on a rival channel in the UK; as such, Five requested that the new show be developed as a standalone series and not be spun off from a series that it owned a stake in. The series premiered in Australia on November 15, 2005, but was not a ratings success and was cancelled two months later on January 23, 2006. The series broadcast on E4 and Channel 4 in the UK. Nickelodeon's '' H2O: Just Add Water'' appeared in July 2006 on Network Ten. Since Connie considered this mention as a torrid soap opera, this was mentioned in the
Steven Universe ''Steven Universe'' is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe ( Zach Callison), who lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, mineral ...
episode "Love Letters". After losing the UK television rights to ''Neighbours'' to Five, the BBC commissioned a replacement serial '' Out of the Blue'', which was produced in Australia. It debuted as part of BBC One's weekday afternoon schedule on 28 April 2008 but low ratings prompted its move to BBC Two on 19 May 2008. The series was cancelled after its first season. '' Neighbours'' continued low ratings in Australia resulted in it being moved to Ten's new digital channel, Eleven on January 11, 2011. However, it continues to achieve reasonable ratings on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, and as of March 2013 still reportedly achieved significant international sales. ''Neighbours'' was cancelled due to Channel 5, the UK broadcaster of the show, deciding to drop the programme - the money they were paying for the rights was providing the majority of its funding. It ended on 29 July 2022.


New Zealand


Television

Pioneering series '' Pukemanu'' aired over two years (1971–72) and was the
NZBC The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...
's first continuing drama. It followed the goings-on of a North Island timber town. '' Close to Home'' is a New Zealand television soap opera that ran on
TVNZ 1 TVNZ 1 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Tahi) is the first national television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It is the oldest television broadcaster in New Zealand, starting out from 1960 as indep ...
from 1975 to 1983. At its peak in 1977 nearly one million viewers tuned in twice weekly to watch the series co-created by Michael Noonan and Tony Isaac (who had initially only agreed to make the show on the condition they would get to make '' The Governor''). '' Gloss'' is a television drama series that screened from 1987 to 1990. The series is about a fictional publishing empire run by the Redfern family. Gloss was NZ's answer to US soap ''Dynasty'', with the Carrington oil scions replaced by the wealthy Redferns and their Auckland magazine empire. It was a starting point for many actors who went on to many productions in New Zealand, Australia and around the world including Temuera Morrison, Miranda Harcourt, Peter Elliott, Lisa Chappell, Danielle Cormack and Kevin Smith. Many of them would go on to star in ''
Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...
'', which has been New Zealand's most popular soap since its debut in 1992. It airs on
TVNZ 2 TVNZ 2 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Rua) is the second New Zealand television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It targets a younger audience than its sister channel, TVNZ 1. TVNZ 2's line up consi ...
.


Radio

Radio New Zealand began airing its first radio soap ''
You Me Now ''You Me ... Now'' is New Zealand's first radio soap opera written and created by All The Way Home Productions. Season One was 25 episodes long and originally aired on Radio New Zealand in 2010. After a successful run, "You Me Now" was picked up ...
'' in September 2010. It is available for podcast on its website.


Canada

Relatively few daily soap operas have been produced on English Canadian television, with most Canadian stations and networks that carry soap operas airing those imported from the United States or the United Kingdom. Notable daily soaps that did exist included ''
Family Passions ''Family Passions'' (German: ''Macht der Leidenschaft'') was the first hour-long television serial produced in Canada and Germany. It was produced and distributed by Baton Broadcasting System and ZDF between 1993 and 1994. In 1996, BBS stations ...
'', ''
Scarlett Hill ''Scarlett Hill'' was a Canadian soap opera (first written for CBC Television) which ran from October 1962 to 1964. This was the first daytime soap opera produced for Canadian television, although it was based upon an American radio drama create ...
'', '' Strange Paradise'', '' Metropia'', ''
Train 48 ''Train 48'' was a Canadian improvised soap opera, broadcast on Global Television Network and CH from 2003 until 2005. ''Train 48'' was based on the format of an Australian television program called '' Going Home''. History The show was broadc ...
'' and the international co-production ''Foreign Affairs''. ''Family Passions'' was an hour-long program, as is typical of American daytime soaps; all of the others ran half-hour episodes. Unlike American or British soap operas, the most influential of which have run for years or even decades, even daily Canadian soap operas have run for a few seasons at most. Short-run soaps, including ''
49th & Main ''49th & Main'' is a CBC Television soap opera. It premiered on July 18, 2006, at 2:30 P.M. (3:00 P.M. in Newfoundland), and ran for 6 episodes on a Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday scheduling setup, with the final episode having aired on July 27. The s ...
'' and '' North/South'', have also aired. Many of these were produced in an effort to comply with
Canadian content Canadian content (abbreviated CanCon, cancon or can-con; ) refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requirements, derived from the Broadcasting Act of Canada, that radio and television broadcasters (includ ...
regulations, which require a percentage of programming on Canadian television to originate from Canada. Notable prime time soap operas in Canada have included '' Riverdale'', '' House of Pride'', ''
Paradise Falls ''Paradise Falls'' is a weekly soap opera television series which aired nationally on the Showcase channel in Canada, starting in 2001. It was filmed in the summer cottage community of Muskoka, Ontario. Like many major soap operas, sex is a do ...
'', ''
Lance et Compte ''He Shoots, He Scores'' (french: Lance et compte) is a Canadian ''téléroman'', or television drama series, revolving around a fictional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The series aired from 1986 to 1989 on the Radio-Canada network, and re ...
'' ("He Shoots, He Scores"), ''
Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...
'' '' Loving Friends and Perfect Couples'' and '' The City''. The ''Degrassi'' franchise of youth dramas also incorporated some elements of the soap opera format. On French-language television in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, the ''
téléroman A téléroman ("telenovel" or ''annual drama series'') is a genre of French-language drama television series in Canada, similar to a soap opera or a Spanish language telenovela. In France, the ''téléroman'' genre is known as feuilleton télév ...
'' has been a popular mainstay of network programming since the 1950s. Notable téléromans have included '' Rue des Pignons'', ''
Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut ''Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut'' is a Canadian television drama series, which aired on Radio-Canada from October 8, 1956, to June 1, 1970. One of the longest-running programs in the history of Canadian television, the series produced 4 ...
'', ''
Diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...
'', ''
La famille Plouffe ''La famille Plouffe'' was a Canadian television drama, more specifically a téléroman, about a Quebec City family that first aired in the French language on Société Radio-Canada in 1953. The show was created to fill a void in francophone telev ...
'', and the soap opera parody '' Le Cœur a ses raisons''.


India

Unlike the season based production in most countries, most of Indian television fiction tends to be regular-broadcasting soap opera. These started in the 1980s, as more and more people began to purchase television sets. At the beginning of the 21st century, soap operas became an integral part of Indian culture. Indian soap operas mostly concentrate on the conflict between love and arranged marriages occurring in India, and many includes family melodrama. Indian soap operas have multilingual production. Many soap operas produced in India are also broadcast overseas in the UK, Canada, the United States, and some parts of Europe, South Africa, Australia and South East Asia. They are often mass-produced under large production banners, with companies like Balaji Telefilms running different language versions of the same serial on different television networks or channels.


Europe


Remakes of Australian serials

The Australian serial ''The Restless Years'' was remade in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
as ''
Goede tijden, slechte tijden ''Goede tijden, slechte tijden'' (, ), also known as ''GTST'' or simply ''Goede tijden'', is the longest-running Dutch soap opera, which began on 1 October 1990 on RTL4. The programme was the first daily (every workday) soap in the Netherlands a ...
'' (which debuted in 1990) and in Germany as ''
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten ''Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten'' ("Good Times, Bad Times"), often abbreviated ''GZSZ'', is a long-running German television soap opera, first broadcast on RTL in 1992. The programme concerns the lives of a fictional neighborhood in Germany's ...
'' (which has aired since 1992): both titles translate to "good times, bad times". These remakes are still airing, but have long since diverged from the original Australian storylines. The two shows are the highest-rated soap operas in their respective countries. A later Australian serial, ''Sons and Daughters'', has inspired five remakes produced under license from the original producers and based, initially, on original story and character outlines. These are ''
Verbotene Liebe ''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of ...
'' (Germany, 1995–2015); ''
Skilda världar ''Skilda världar'' (''Worlds Apart'') is a former Swedish soap opera originally airing from 1996 to 2002 about two families in Stockholm and their friends. One rich family and one poor and about Daniel and Sandra who are from the two families an ...
'' ( Sweden, 1996–2002); ''Apagorevmeni agapi'' (
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, 1998); ''Cuori Rubati'' (
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, 2002–2003) and ''
Zabranjena ljubav ''Zabranjena ljubav'' ( lit. "Forbidden Love", commonly abbreviated to ZLJ) is a Croatian daytime soap opera about the lives and loves of both young and older characters, focused on Zagreb, capital city of Croatia. Actors Mario Valentić, Anton ...
'' (
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
, 2004–2008). Both ''The Restless Years'' and ''Sons and Daughters'' were created and produced in Australia by the Reg Grundy Organisation. Another Australian soap opera reformatted for a European audience was '' E Street'' which ran on
Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
in Australia from 1989 to 1993. Germany produced 37 episodes of ''
Westerdeich ''Westerdeich'' is a German television series, based on the Belgian television series '' Wittekerke'', which, in turn, was a remake of the Australian soap opera, '' E Street''. ''E Street'' originally aired from 1989 to 1993 on Network Ten, a c ...
'' ("Westside") in 1995 using scripts from 1989 episodes of ''E Street''. It was also remade in Belgium as ''Wittekerke'' ("Whitechurch") and ran from 1993 to 2008.


Norway

The
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
soap opera '' Hotel Cæsar'' aired on TV 2 from 1998 to 2017, and is the longest-running television drama in
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
. Popular foreign soaps in the country include ''Days of Our Lives'' (broadcast on TV6 (Norway), ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (TNT (Norway) and ''Home and Away'' ( TV 2), all of which are subtitled.


Netherlands

Serials have included ''
Goede tijden, slechte tijden ''Goede tijden, slechte tijden'' (, ), also known as ''GTST'' or simply ''Goede tijden'', is the longest-running Dutch soap opera, which began on 1 October 1990 on RTL4. The programme was the first daily (every workday) soap in the Netherlands a ...
'' (1990–present), ''Onderweg naar Morgen'' (1994–2010) and ''Goudkust'' (1996–2001). In 2016 ''Goede tijden, slechte tijden'' spin-off ''Nieuwe Tijden'' started airing, but was ultimately cancelled by broadcaster RTL in 2018. Linear viewership for ''Goede tijden, slechte tijden'', the country's most prominent soap opera, has decreased in recent years. However, due to a rising viewership on streaming platforms, RTL has decided to continue producing the show throughout the 2022/2023 television season. U.S. daytime serials ''As The World Turns'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' have aired in the Netherlands; ''As the World Turns'' began airing in the country in 1990, with
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
subtitles.


Germany

In the 1980s, West German networks successfully added American daytime and primetime soap operas to their schedule before Das Erste introduced its first self-produced weekly soap with ''
Lindenstraße ''Lindenstraße'' (literally "Linden Street") was a long-running German television drama series, broadcast by Das Erste. The first episode aired on 8 December 1985 and since then new episodes were broadcast weekly until 2020. Its last timeslot ...
'', which was seen as a German counterpart to ''Coronation Street''. Like in other countries, the soap opera met with negative reviews, but eventually proved critics wrong with nearly 13 million viewers tuning in each week. Even though the format proved successful, it was not until 1992 before ''
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten ''Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten'' ("Good Times, Bad Times"), often abbreviated ''GZSZ'', is a long-running German television soap opera, first broadcast on RTL in 1992. The programme concerns the lives of a fictional neighborhood in Germany's ...
'' became the first German daily soap opera. Early ratings were bad as were the reviews, but the RTL network was willing to give its first soap opera a chance; ratings would improve, climbing to 7 million viewers by 2002. Not long after ''Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten'', Das Erste introduced '' Marienhof'', which aired twice a week. After successfully creating the first German daily soap, production company Grundy Ufa wanted to produce another soap for RTL. Like ''GZSZ'', the format was based on an Australian soap opera from Reg Watson. But RTL did not like the plot idea about separated twins who meet each other for the first time after 20 years and fall in love without knowing that they are related. The project was then taken to Das Erste, which commissioned the program, titled ''
Verbotene Liebe ''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of ...
'', which premiered on January 2, 1995. With the premiere of ''Verbotene Liebe'', the network turned ''Marienhof'' into a daily soap as well. In the meanwhile, RTL debuted the Grundy Ufa-produced ''
Unter uns ''Unter uns'' (''"Between Us"'') is a German television soap opera, based on the Hungarian soap opera Barátok közt, first broadcast on RTL on 28 November 1994. It is centered on the lives of the people in a residential house, which is set i ...
'' in late 1994.
ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
started a business venture with
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and co-produced the short-lived series ''
Family Passions ''Family Passions'' (German: ''Macht der Leidenschaft'') was the first hour-long television serial produced in Canada and Germany. It was produced and distributed by Baton Broadcasting System and ZDF between 1993 and 1994. In 1996, BBS stations ...
'', starring actors such as Gordon Thomson,
Roscoe Born Roscoe Conklin Born (November 24, 1950 – March 3, 2020) was an American actor and songwriter. He is best known for his roles on various television soap operas, most notably as archvillain Mitch Laurence on ''One Life to Live'' in six stints ...
,
Dietmar Schönherr Dietmar Otto Schönherr (; 17 May 1926 – 18 July 2014) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in 120 films between 1944 and 2014. He was famous for playing the role of Major Cliff Allister McLane in the German science fiction series '' Rau ...
and a young
Hayden Christensen Hayden Christensen (; born April 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the ''Star Wars'' media franchise. He first appeared in the prequel trilogy films, '' Star Wars: Episode ...
. The daytime serial premiered on December 5, 1994, lasting 130 episodes. After its cancellation, the network debuted '' Jede Menge Leben''. Even after a crossover with three soaps, ''
Freunde fürs Leben ''Freunde fürs Leben'' is a German television series. See also *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Current Drama * ''4 Blocks'' (TNT Serie, 2017–2019) * ''Alarm für Co ...
'', ''
Forsthaus Falkenau ''Forsthaus Falkenau'' is a German television series. See also *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Current Drama * '' 4 Blocks'' ( TNT Serie, 2017–2019) * '' Alarm für C ...
'' and ''
Unser Lehrer Doktor Specht Unser Lehrer Doktor Specht (Our teacher Doctor Specht) is a series of family author Kurt Bartsch, directors Werner Masten (episodes 1-57), Vera Loebner (episodes 58-63) and Karin Hercher (episodes 64-70), shooting starting in 1991 in Germany. ...
'', the soap was canceled after 313 episodes. Sat.1 tried to get into the soap business as well, after successfully airing the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', which was dropped in 1995 due to the
talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...
phenomenon that took over most of the daytime schedules of German networks. The network first tried to tell a family saga with ''
So ist das Leben! Die Wagenfelds ''So ist das Leben! Die Wagenfelds'' is a German television series. See also *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Current Drama * '' 4 Blocks'' ( TNT Serie, 2017–2019) * '' ...
'', before failing with '' Geliebte Schwestern''.
RTL II RTL Zwei (stylised as RTLZWEI), formerly spelled RTL 2 and RTL II, is a German-language television channel that is operated by ''RTL2 Television GmbH & Co. KG''. RTL2 is a private television broadcaster with a full program ''(Vollprogramm)'' ...
made its own short-lived attempt with '' Alle zusammen – jeder für sich''. The teen soap opera ''
Schloss Einstein ''Schloss Einstein'' is a long-running, popular German television series which is designed as a teenage soap opera. It portrays the lives of teenagers in Schloss Einstein (Castle Einstein), a fictional boarding school. The intended audience is 10 ...
'' debuted on September 4, 1998, focusing on the life of a group of teenagers at the fictional titular boarding school near
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
. As of July 2014, the series has produced over 815 episodes during the course of 17 seasons, a milestone in German television programming, and was renewed for an 18th season to debut in 2015. In 1999, after the lasting success of ''Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten'', ''Marienhof'', ''Unter uns'' and ''Verbotene Liebe'', ProSieben aired ''
Mallorca – Suche nach dem Paradies ''Mallorca – Suche nach dem Paradies'' (English: ''Mallorca - Search for the Paradise'') or short named just ''Mallorca'' is a German television soap opera, produced by Grundy UFA on location in Spain. The show premiered on April 26, 1999 on P ...
'', set on the Spanish island with the same name. After nine months, the network canceled the program due to low viewership and high production costs. Even though ratings had improved, the show ended its run in a morning timeslot. The soap opera became something of a cult classic, as its 200-episode run was repeated several times on
free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...
and
pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
. In 2006, ''
Alles was zählt ''Alles was zählt'' ("All That Matters") is a German television soap opera first broadcast on RTL on 4 September 2006. Plot The original plot revolved around Diana Sommer's dream to become a world class ice skater. She fell in love with Jul ...
'' became the last successful daily soap to make its debut, airing as a lead-in to ''Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten'' and also produced by Grundy Ufa. Since Germany started to produce its own
telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
s, all soap operas faced declines in ratings. ''Unter uns'' was in danger of cancellation in 2009, but escaped such a fate due to budget cuts imposed by the show's producers and the firing of original cast member Holger Franke, whose firing and the death of his character outraged fans, resulting in a ratings spike in early 2010. After ''Unter uns'' was saved, Das Erste planned to make changes to its soap lineup. ''Marienhof'' had to deal with multiple issues in its storytelling, as well as in producing a successful half-hour show. Several changes were made within months, however ''Marienhof'' was canceled in June 2011. ''Verbotene Liebe'' was in danger of being cancelled as well, but convinced the network to renew it with changes that it made in both 2010 and 2011; the soap was later expanded to 45 minutes after ''Marienhof'' was canceled, and the network tried to decide on whether to revamp its lineup. While ''Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten'', ''Unter uns'' and ''Alles was zählt'' are currently the only daily soaps on the air after ''Verbotene Liebe'' has been cancelled and aired its last episode in June, 2015 due to low ratings, the telenovelas '' Sturm der Liebe'' and ''
Rote Rosen ''Rote Rosen'' (Red Roses) is a German telenovela produced by Studio Hamburg Serienwerft Lüneburg and broadcast by Das Erste since 6 November 2006. The show is a complex telenovela, which tells one love story every season about women in their ...
'' are considered soaps by the press as well, thanks to the changing protagonists every season.


Belgium

In
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, the two major soap operas are ''
Thuis ''Thuis'' ( en, At Home) is a Belgian television soap opera, which airs on één, which is in the hands of VRT, the national broadcasting channel of the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium, Flanders. ''Thuis'' first aired on 23 December 1995, f ...
'' ("Home") and ''
Familie ''Familie'' (Dutch for Family) is a Flemish television soap opera set in Mechelen. Created by Herman Verbaet, ''Familie'' was first broadcast on 30 December 1991. It has been broadcast consistently for 5-6 evenings per week, with only 2-3 mon ...
'' ("Family"), both prime time soap operas. Soap operas have been very popular in
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. ''Familie'' debuted in late 1991, and with more han 6,700 half-hour episodes, it has the highest episode total of any soap in Europe outside of the United Kingdom. The highest-rated soap opera is ''Thuis'', which has aired on " één" since late 1995. ''Thuis'' is often one of the five most-watched Belgian shows and regularly garners over one million viewers (with 6.6 million Flemings in total). During the 1990s, foreign soap operas such as ''Neighbours'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' were extremely popular, the latter having achieved a cult status in Belgium and airing in the middle of the decade during prime time. Both soaps still air today, along with other foreign soaps such as ''Days of Our Lives'', Australia's ''Home and Away'' and Germany's "Sturm der Liebe".
Vitaya VTM 3 is a Flemish television station. The station got its license for 9 years in 1999 and it started to broadcast on 25 August 2000. VTM3 can be seen on Flemish cable and satellite services. The station is part of DPG Media (formerly Medialaan, ...
unsuccessful attempted to air the Dutch soap opera "
Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden ''Goede tijden, slechte tijden'' (, ), also known as ''GTST'' or simply ''Goede tijden'', is the longest-running Dutch soap opera, which began on 1 October 1990 on RTL4. The programme was the first daily (every workday) soap in the Netherlands a ...
" in 2010. Other foreign soaps that previously aired on Belgian television include ''The Young and the Restless'', ''EastEnders'' (both on VTM), "Port Charles" (at één, then known as TV1) and "Coronation Street" (on Vitaya). " Santa Barbara" aired during the 1990s on VTM for its entire run. In early 2000s, the only teen soap opera on Belgian television was ''
Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
'' ("Jump" in English), which aired on the youth-oriented
Ketnet Ketnet is a Dutch-language public children's television channel in Belgium owned and operated by the VRT, Flemish public broadcaster. It broadcasts a mix of locally produced and imported productions on the VRT3 channel from 6am until 8pm. On 1 D ...
and produced over 600 15-minute episodes from late 2002 until 2009, when it was cancelled after a steady decline in ratings following the departures of many of its original characters.


Italy

The most successful soap opera in Italy is the evening series ''Un posto al sole'' ("A Place Under the Sun"), which had aired on
Rai 3 Rai 3 (formerly Rete 3) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural and ...
since 1996 (whose format is based on the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''). Several other Italian soaps have been produced such as ''Ricominciare'' ("Starting Over"), ''Cuori rubati'' ("Stolen Hearts"), ''Vivere'' ("Living"), ''Sottocasa'' ("Downstairs"), ''Agrodolce'' ("Bittersweet") and ''Centovetrine'' ("Hundred Shop Windows"). The most popular Italian prime-time soap opera, ''Incantesimo'' ("Enchantment"), which ran from 1998 to 2008, became a daytime soap opera for the final two years of its run, airing five days a week on
Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and gener ...
. The same happened with ''Il paradiso delle signore'' (''Woman's Paradise''), a period drama, which ran from 2015 to 2017 in prime-time, and became a daytime period soap opera from 2018.


Ireland


Television

In the early years of RTÉ, the network produced several dramas but had not come close to launching a long-running serial. RTÉ's first television soap was ''Tolka Row'', which was set in urban Dublin. For several years, both ''Tolka Row'' and ''The Riordans'' were produced by RTÉ; however, the urban soap was soon dropped in favor of the more popular rural soap opera ''The Riordans'', which premiered in 1965. Executives from Yorkshire Television visited during on-location shoots for ''The Riordans'' in the early 1970s and in 1972, debuted ''Emmerdale Farm'' (now ''Emmerdale''), based on the successful format of the Irish soap opera. In the late 1970s, ''The Riordans'' was controversially dropped. The creator of that series would then go on to produce the second of his "Agri-soap" trilogy ''Bracken (TV series), Bracken'', starring Gabriel Byrne, whose character had appeared in the last few seasons of ''The Riordans''. Bracken (TV series), Bracken was soon replaced by the third "Agri-soap" ''Glenroe'', which ran until 2001. As RTÉ wanted a drama series for its Sunday night lineup rather than a soap opera, ''On Home Ground'' (2001–2002), ''The Clinic (TV series), The Clinic'' (2002–2009) and ''Raw (TV series), RAW'' (2010–2013) replaced the agri-soaps of the previous decades. In 1989, RTÉ decided to produce its first Dublin-based soap opera since the 1960s. ''Fair City'', which is set in the fictional city of Carrickstown, initially aired one night a week during the 1989–90 season, and similar to its rural soaps, much of the footage was filmed on location – in a suburb of Dublin City. In 1992, RTÉ made a major investment into the series by copying the houses used in the on-location shoots for an on-site set in RTÉ's Headquarters in Dublin 4. By the early 1990s, it was airing two nights a week for 35 weeks a year. With competition from the UK soap operas, RTÉ expanded ''Fair City'' to three nights a week for most of the year and one night a week during the summer in 1996, later expanding to four nights a week and two nights during the summer. Until the early 2000s, the series produced four episodes a week, airing all 52 weeks of the year. ''Fair City'' airs Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8.00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on RTÉ One; however, after rival network TV3 moved ''Coronation Street'' to Thursday night, the Wednesday night episode of ''Fair City'' began airing at 7:30 p.m. each week. TG4 produce the Irish language soap ''Ros na Rún'' ("Headland of the Secrets" or "Headland of the Sweethearts"); set in the fictional village of ''Ros Na Rún'', located outside Galway and near Spiddal, it centres on the domestic and professional lives of the town's residents. It is modeled on an average village in the West of Ireland, but with its own distinct personality – with a diverse population that share secrets, romances and friendships among other things. While the core community has remained the same, the look and feel of ''Ros Na Rún'' has changed and evolved over the years to incorporate the changing face of rural Ireland. It has an established a place not only in the hearts and minds of the Irish speaking public, but also the wider Irish audience. The program has dealt with many topics, including domestic violence, infidelity, theft, arson,
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
, homosexuality, adoption, murder, rape, drugs, teen pregnancy and paedophilia. It runs twice a week for 35 weeks of the year, currently airing Tuesday and Thursday nights. ''Ros na Rún'' is the single largest independent production commissioned in the history of Irish broadcasting. Prior to TG4's launch, it originally aired on RTÉ One in the early 1990s. Although Ireland has access to international soaps (such as ''Coronation Street'', ''Emmerdale'', ''EastEnders'', ''Home and Away'', ''Hollyoaks'' and '' Neighbours''), ''Fair City'' continues to outperform them all, and is Ireland's most popular soap opera, with the show peaking at over 700,000 viewers. January 2015 ''Red Rock (TV series), Red Rock'' has broadcast on TV3. Red Rock airs twice a week on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The series is base in a fishing village in Dublin. The soaps centres around the local Garda station but also includes stories from the village.


Radio

RTÉ Radio produced its first radio soap, ''Kennedys of Castleross'', which ran from April 13, 1955, to 1975. In 1979 RTÉ long running TV soap The Riordans moved to Radio until December 24, 1985. In the mid-1980s, RTÉ debuted a new radio soap, ''Harbour Hotel'', which ran until the mid-1990s. The network later ran two short-lived radio soaps, ''Konvenience Korner'' and ''Riverrun'', which were followed in 2004 by ''Driftwood''. RTÉ does not run any radio soaps, however RTÉ Radio 1 continues to air radio dramas as part of its nighttime schedule.


France

* ''Rue Carnot'' (1984-1987) : Aired on Canal+. * ''Sous le soleil'' (1996-2008) : Aired on TF1. * ''Les vacances de l'amour'' (1996-2007) : Aired on TF1. Third series and first soap opera in the ''Hélène et les Garçons'' franchise. * ''Plus belle la vie'' (2004-2022) : Shown on France 3 on Monday to Friday evenings. * ''Cœur Océan'' (2006-2011) : Aired on France 2. * ''Baie des flamboyants'' (2007-2008) : Aired on France Ô. * ''Foudre'' (2007-2011) : Aired on France 2. * ''Seconde Chance'' (2008-2009) : Aired on TF1. * ''Cinq Sœurs'' (2008) : Aired on France 2. * ''Paris 16e'' (2009) : Aired on M6 (TV channel), M6. * ''Les Mystères de l'amour'' (since 2011) : Broadcast by TMC (TV channel), TMC. Fourth series and second soap opera in the ''Hélène et les Garçons'' franchise. * ''Les Flamboyants'' : (2011-2012) : A spin-off of ''Baie des flamboyants'', aired on France Ô. * ''Sous le soleil de Saint-Tropez'' (2013-2014) : A spin-off of ''Sous le soleil'', aired on TMC (TV channel), TMC. * ''Cut !'' (2013-2019) : Aired on France Ô. * ''Tomorrow Is Ours, Demain Nous Appartient'' (since 2017) : Shown on TF1 on Monday to Friday evenings. * ''Un si grand soleil'' (since 2018) : Broadcast by France 2. * ''OPJ, Pacifique Sud'' (since 2019) : Broadcast by France Ô. * ''Ici Tout Commence'' (since 2020) : Shown on TF1 on Monday to Friday evenings.


Greece

In
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, there have been several soap operas.


ANT1

An early serial was ''Sti skia tou hrimatos'' ("Money Shadows"), which ran from 1990 to 1991. September 1991 saw the debut of ''Lampsi'' ("the Shining"), from creator Nicos Foskolos. The series would become Greece's longest-running soap opera. After the success of ''Lampsi'' came the short lived ''To galazio diamandi'' ("Blue Diamond") and ''Simphonia siopis'' ("Omertà"). ''Lampsi'' was canceled in June 2005 due to declining ratings. It was replaced by ''Erotas'' ("Love"), a soap that ran from 2005 to 2008. After that series ended, ANT1 abandoned the soap opera genre and focused on comedy series and weekly dramas. Greece's second longest-running soap is ''Kalimera Zoi'' ("Goodmorning Life"), which ran from September 1993 until its cancellation in June 2006 due to low ratings.


MEGA

Mega Channel began producing soap operas in 1990 with the prime time serial ''I Dipsa'' ("The Thirst"), which ran for 102 episodes. Other daytime soaps have included ''Paralliloi dromoi'' (1992–1994) and its successor ''Haravgi'' ("Daylight", 1994–1995), both of which were cancelled due to low viewership; as well as the serials ''Apagorevmeni Agapi'' ("Forbidden Love"), which ran from 1998 to 2006; ''Gia mia thesi ston Ilio'' ("A Spot Under the Sun"), which ran from 1998 to 2002; ''Filodoxies'' ("Expectations"), which ran from 2002 to 2006; and ''Vera Sto Deksi'' ("Ring on the Right Hand"), which ran from 2004 to 2006 and proved to be a successful competitor to ''Lampsi'', causing that show's ratings to decline. ''Ta Mistika Tis Edem'' ("Edem Secrets"), which was created by the producers of ''Vera Sto Deksi'', debuted in 2008 and has eclipsed that show's success. Its ratings place it consistently among the three highest-rated daytime programs.


ERT

YENED (which was renamed ERT2 in 1982) was responsible for the first Greek soap operas ''I Kravgi Ton Likon'' and ''Megistanes''. ERT also produced the long-running soap ''O Simvoleografos''. Since 2000 and with the introduction of private television, ERT produced additional daily soap operas, which included ''Pathos'' ("Passion"), ''Erotika tis Edem'' ("Loving in Eden") and ''Ta ftera tou erota'' ("The Wings of Love"). These failed to achieve high ratings and were canceled shortly after their premiere.


ALPHA

Alpha produced ''Kato apo tin Acropoli'' ("Under the Acropolis"), which ran for 2½ years. In 2022, Alpha produce a new soap opera ''Paradeisos'' based on the italian soap ''Il Paradiso Delle Signore''.


Cyprus


Weekday shows

The first daytime soap opera produced by a Cyprus channel was LOGOs TV's ''Odos Den Ksehno'' ("'Don't Forget' Street"), which ran from January to December 1996. It was followed by ''To Serial'', which also ran for one year from September 1997 to June 1998. CyBC created the third weekdaily soap, ''Anemi Tou Pathous'' ("Passion Winds"), running from January 2000 to June 2004, which was replaced by ''I Platia'' ("The Square") from September 2004 to July 2006. ''Epikindini Zoni'' ran from 2009 to 2010, and was cancelled after 120 episodes. ''Vimata Stin Ammo'' made its debut in September 2010. Sigma TV first commissioned the weekdaily comedic soap ''Sto Para Pente'', which aired from September 1998 to June 2004, and was the longest weekday show in Cyprus television history, before it was surpassed by ''Se Fonto Kokkino'', which ran from September 2008 to July 2012. Other Sigma TV weekday shows include ''Akti Oniron'' (which ran from 1999 to 2001), ''Vourate Geitonoi'' (which ran from 2001 to 2005, and was the most successful weekdaily series, achieving ratings shares of up to 70% of all television households in the country), ''Oi Takkoi'' (which ran from 2002 to 2005), ''S' Agapo'' (which ran from 2001 to 2002), ''Vasiliki'' (which ran from 2005 to 2006), ''Vendetta'' (which ran from September 2005 to December 2006), ''30 kai Kati'' (which ran from 2006 to 2007) and ''Mila Mou'' (which ran from September 2007 to January 2009). ANT1 Cyprus aired the soap ''I Goitia Tis Amartias'' in 2002, which was soon canceled. ''Dikse Mou To Filo Sou'' followed from 2006 to 2009, along with ''Gia Tin Agapi Sou'', which ran from 2008 to 2009 and itself was followed by ''Panselinos'', which has aired 2009 to 2011.


Weekly shows

The longest-running weekly show on Cyprus television is ''Istories Tou Horkou'' ("Villages Stories", which premiered on CyBC in March 1996 and ran until its cancellation in June 2006; it was revived in September 2010 but was cancelled again in March 2011 due to very low ratings), followed by ''Manolis Ke Katina'' ("Manolis and Katina", which ran from 1995 to 2004). The most controversial of these series was ''To Kafenio'' ("The Coffee Shop"), which premiered on CyBC on 1993 as a weekly series, before moving to MEGA Channel Cyprus six years later in 1999 as a weekdaily show and then moved to ANT1 Cyprus on 2000, which canceled the show one year later. There were plans to move the show back to CyBC as a weekly series in 2001, with the original cast, however, this plan was never realised. The most successful weekly shows in Cyprus currently are ANT1's ''Eleni I Porni'' ("Eleni, The Whore"), which premiered in October 2010 and CyBC's ''Stin Akri Tu Paradisou'' ("At The Heaven's Edge"), which premiered in 2007. The most successful weekdaily soap was ''Aigia Fuxia'', which aired on ANT1 Cyprus from 2008 to 2010.


Finland

The only daily Finnish soap opera so far is ''Salatut elämät'' (''Secret Lives''), which has achieved popularity in Finland since its 1999 debut on MTV3. It focuses on the lives of people along the imaginary Pihlajakatu street in Helsinki. The show has also spawned several Internet spin-off series and a film based on the show that was released in 2012. Other soap-like shows in Finland are YLE shows ''Uusi päivä'' (which has aired from 2010 to 2018) and ''Kotikatu'' (which ran from 1995 to 2012), however these programs did not adhere to a five-episode-a-week schedule.


Middle East


Egypt

In February 2022, MBC launched the first egyptian daily soap opera, ''Downtown West El Balad''. In Cairo, two brothers became enemies after the death of their father because the eldest son was excluded from the inheritance. 190 episodes have already been produced.


Latin America

In
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, for many years, primetime (as well as part of daytime) programming, for the most part, has been traditionally composed of telenovelas. However, throughout the years, there have been cases where a number of television programs tended to "mix" the concepts of television series and telenovela, such as, for example, a telenovela that lasted several seasons to end. With this "overlap", many people consider that these shows could be more accurately described as "soap operas". With this being said, the two most notable Latin American examples of TV programs that could fit on the definition of a "soap opera" are ''Chiquititas'' (in both Argentina and Brazil) and ''Malhação'' (only in Brazil). ''Chiquititas'' was first broadcast in Argentina by Telefe in 1995 and soon became a national hit, especially among children. In regards to the audience, all eight seasons (the final season ended in 2006) of ''Chiquititas'' guaranteed the first place in the Argentine TV ratings for Telefe. Throughout the years, ''Chiquititas'' had a number of spin-offs not only in Argentina, but also in Brazil,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and Portugal. In 1997, Silvio Santos, founder and owner of the Brazilian television network Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão, SBT, seeing the good ratings of ''Chiquititas'' in Argentina, decided to make a partnership with Telefe, and thus, SBT started to broadcast ''Chiquititas (1997 Brazilian TV series), Chiquititas'' in Brazil, but in the format of " remake", with the use of the Portuguese language instead of Spanish language, Spanish, with the use of dubbing when singing the soundtrack songs (unlike the Argentine version, on which the actors themselves sung the songs), with a Brazilian cast and with slight modifications in regards to its plot (the Brazilian version was set in the city of São Paulo instead of Buenos Aires, although many scenes of the Brazilian adaptation were actually filmed at the same Telefe studios in Buenos Aires where the Argentine version was also recorded, due to the afore-mentioned partnership between Telefe and SBT). The Brazilian version of ''Chiquititas'', which lasted five seasons and ended in 2001, was successful in the ratings as well, in a slightly smaller scale compared to the Argentine version, and despite the success of ''Malhação'' (see below), the soap opera was one of the most known TV programs of the late 1990s in Brazil, enough to put ''Chiquititas'' also in the imaginary of many Brazilian children (a proof of this is that the casting process for the third season of ''Chiquititas'' in 1999 reunited about 15,000 children in the city of São Paulo alone, a record number not seen even in any Brazilian telenovela). In 2013, SBT decided to make a second adaptation of ''Chiquititas (2013 Brazilian TV series), Chiquititas'', which lasted two seasons (the final season ended in 2015), but unlike the first version, which resembled more like its Argentine counterpart, the second version, produced only by SBT, is different not only because the soundtrack is entirely sung by the actors themselves (as well as on the Argentine version, on which the actors did not dub the songs, but unlike the first Brazilian adaptation), and is also more "modernized", with themes like social media and bullying being present. Despite the fact that the ratings of the 2013 version of ''Chiquititas'' were smaller, the soap opera was not considered a failure by the critics. SBT executives evaluated the ratings as being "satisfactory", and some fans consider the 2013 version to be a small "revival" of the 1997 version of ''Chiquititas''. ''Malhação'' has been transmitted by Rede Globo on almost every week since 1995 and has become the most successful Brazilian soap opera in the ratings. On each one of the 27 seasons shown as of 2021, the soap opera stayed in the first place on the ratings (like the Argentine version of ''Chiquititas''). Moreover, ''Malhação'' also had a number of spin-offs being produced in Brazil. However, unlike ''Chiquititas'', ''Malhação'' is more focused on teenagers, with more mature issues like teenage pregnancy, sexual relationships and the use of illicit drugs being discussed on its plot. Another interesting topic is that ''Malhação'' is considered by some fans as being the "entrance door" to many rookie actors who obtain the first opportunity of working on Rede Globo, because history has shown that a good acting in ''Malhação'' increases the possibility of being "promoted" to the primetime telenovelas (also broadcast by Rede Globo). In fact, estimates indicate that hundreds of actors participate in the casting process of ''Malhação'' each year, proving that many aspiring actors want to appear in this soap opera to further progress their careers.


Internet and mobile soap opera

With the advent of internet television and mobile phones, several soap operas have also been produced specifically for these platforms, including ''EastEnders: E20'', a spin-off of the established ''EastEnders''. For those produced only for the mobile phone, episodes may generally consist of about six or seven pictures and accompanying text. On September 13, 2011, TG4 launched a new 10-part online series titled, ''Ros na Rún, Na Rúin'' (an Internet spin-off of ''Ros na Rún''). The miniseries took on the theme of a Mystery film, mystery; the viewer had to read Rachel and Lorcán's blogs as well as watch video diaries detailing each character's thoughts to solve the mystery of missing teenage character Ciara.


Home video release

Due to the massive number of episodes typically produced for a long-running soap opera (into the tens of thousands for some) and the fact many episodes are lost over time, home video release (in VHS, DVD or Blu-ray) of daily soap operas is generally considered impractical and impossible beyond occasional retrospective releases or highlights. A notable exception is the 1966-1971 series ''
Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspo ...
'', which has had its entire run of 1,225 episodes (with an audio recreation of its sole missing episode) released to home video. In the case of American "primetime soap operas" this generally does not apply as typically such series produce far fewer episodes (generally on par with that of other genres), allowing home video release.


Parodies

In motion pictures, the 1982 comedy ''Tootsie'' has the lead character impersonating a woman in order to gain acting work on a long running television soap opera. Several scenes parody the production of soaps, their outrageous storylines and idiosyncratic stylistic elements. The 1991 comedy ''Soapdish'' stars Sally Field as an aging soap opera actress on the fictional series ''The Sun Also Sets'' who pines over her own neuroses and misfortunes, such as her live-in boyfriend who leaves her to go back to his wife, and the incidents of backstabbing and scheming behind the scenes, some of which are more interesting than the stories on the program. Another 1991 comedy, ''Delirious (1991 film), Delirious'', stars John Candy as a soap opera writer who, after a head injury, has a dream experience of being in his own creation. The dream experience is an increasingly outrageous exaggeration of soap opera plot elements. On television, several soap opera Parody, parodies have been produced: * ''The Carol Burnett Show'' (1967–78) featured a recurring skit, "As the Stomach Turns", that spoofed the American soap opera ''As the World Turns''. * The first season of the children's television series ''The Electric Company'' featured a recurring sketch, "Love of Chair", spoofing classic soap operas. The title was based on the long-running soap opera ''Love of Life'', and its announcer Ken Roberts (announcer), Ken Roberts was also the announcer on ''Love of Life''. * Two of the most famous U.S. parodies were the series ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' (1976–77) and ''Soap (TV series), Soap'' (1977–81), the latter of which was a weekly sitcom/soap opera parody. * The cult Australian prison soap opera ''
Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...
'' (1979–86) included a spoof television soap that the inmates were occasionally seen watching called "''Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow''". In one episode, specially recorded audio can be heard in which two characters from the fictional soap opera play out a ludicrous script which clearly pokes fun at the heightened melodrama of daytime soap operas. * British soap opera ''
Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...
'' (1982-2003) included an in-universe soap opera parody of itself called "''Meadowcroft Park''" which ''Brookside'' characters referenced and were occasionally seen watching. The soap was set on a newly built housing estate in Chester and real scenes, even a "Part two" caption, were produced for airing on the character's houses TV's. Notably, ''Meadowcroft'' was also the original working title of ''Brookside''. * ''Fresno (TV miniseries), Fresno'' was a 1986 American miniseries spoof of the prime time serials of the period. * The recurring "Acorn Antiques" skit on the UK's ''Victoria Wood As Seen On TV'' (1985–87) was modeled on '' Crossroads'' and other British soap operas of the 1970s. In 1992, Wood included a new soap parody for the one-off programme ''Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast'' called ''The Mall'' which was set in a shopping centre. Wood played Connie who was a send up of Polly Perkins character Trish Valentine in failed BBC soap ''Eldorado (TV series), Eldorado'' which was still airing at the time. * ''Let The Blood Run Free'' (1990–94) was an Australian parody of medical drama series. * The 1990–91 ABC drama ''Twin Peaks'' was a prime time series that poked fun at the genre. Episodes during the series' first season also included a fictional soap within the stories, titled ''Invitation to Love''. * ''Shark Bay'' (1996) was an Australian parody of glamorous beachside soap operas. It featured many actors who had appeared in Australian soap operas ''Sons and Daughters'', ''Prisoner'', ''Home and Away'' and ''Neighbours''. * The 2000–2001 The WB, WB sitcom ''Grosse Pointe (TV series), Grosse Pointe'' was a self-parody of creator Darren Star's behind-the-scenes experiences producing nighttime soaps, in particular ''Beverly Hills, 90210''. * South African comedian Casper de Vries produced the soap opera parody ''Casper de Vries#Television, Haak en Steek'' (which ran from 2003 to 2004), based on South African soaps like ''Egoli: Place of Gold''. * The now-cancelled ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'' would often poke fun at the genre as well, even featuring a soap within the soap called ''Fraternity Row'', which many of ''One Life to Live'' characters had either worked on or watched. Months after ABC announced in April 2011 that it would cancel ''One Life to Live'', the series featured a storyline in which ''Fraternity Row'' itself was cancelled, leading the character of Roxy Balsom (Ilene Kristen) to desperately try and save the series, to no avail. A special episode that aired on December 19, 2011, featured the cast of ''One Life to Live'' acting out an episode of ''Fraternity Row'' in a dream of Roxy's; the episode poked fun at both ''One Life to Live'' and the entire genre itself, featuring many soap opera stereotypes such as overacting, outrageous story lines, bad casting and incestuous relationships; it also parodied some storylines featured on the real-world soap. The second-to-last episode of ''One Life to Live'' showed characters watching the final episode of ''Fraternity Row'' and exposing the show's last big secret: the series' main heroine and protagonist, Lorraine King Vonvaldenburg Baxter Beumont, was really a man. * ''Second City Television, Second City TV'' featured ''The Days of the Week'': "Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. These are...The Days of the Week." * The ABC comedy drama '' Desperate Housewives'' (which ran from 2004 to 2012) was a semi-satirical nighttime series that took many elements from the genre. * The Fox broadcast show ''Futurama'' has a recurring spoof of ''All My Children'' called ''All My Circuits''. * The Adult Swim animated series ''Tender Touches'', which premiered in 2017, is a parody of soap operas.


See also

* Asadora * British Soap Awards * Indian soap opera * List of radio soap operas * List of soap operas * List of American daytime soap opera ratings * "Love in the Afternoon (advertising campaign), Love in the Afternoon" * Mobile soap opera * Philippine drama * Radio drama * Radio theater * ''Soap Opera Update'' * ''Soap Opera Weekly'' * ''Soaps in Depth'' * ''Soaplife'' * Soap opera rapid aging syndrome * Supercouple * Thai television soap opera * Armenian soap operas


References


Bibliography

* Ang, Ien. ''Watching Dallas: Soap Opera and the Melodramatic Imagination'', Methuen, 1985. * Bowles, Kate. ''Soap opera: 'No end of story, ever' '' in ''The Australian TV Book'', (Eds. Graeme Turner and Stuart Cunningham), Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW, 2000.
Google Books link
* Geraghty, Christine. ''The Aesthetic Experience'' in Women and Soap Opera: A Study of Prime Time Soaps, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1991. * Mercado, Andrew. ''Super Aussie Soaps,'' Pluto Press Australia, 2004.
Timeline of daytime soaps


External links




SoapHub.com – Portal for US soap operas

SoapCentral.com – Portal for US soap operas

Soapdom.com – Portal for US soap operas

SoapOperaDigest.com – Portal for US soap operas

Soaps.com – Portal for US soap operas

Soaps of the Past page on MySpace
(US soap operas)
What's on TV – Portal for UK soap operas



The Soap Show
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