(, ), also known as ''GTST'' or simply , is the longest-running Dutch

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

, which began on 1 October 1990 on RTL4. The programme was the first daily (every workday) soap in the Netherlands and Europe. The soap is produced by Joop van den Ende and to date over 7,000 episodes have been broadcast. It was initially based on the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n soap '' The Restless Years'', however it switched to original scripts during the third season and onwards. GTST is broadcast Monday to Friday at 20:00, and became available on demand via streaming platform Videoland from 2015. At its peak, the show drew around 1.5 million viewers daily, in a country of just over 15 million people at the time. In 2022 the show was still watched by over 1 million people, with around 800,000 watching it on TV and an additional 300,000 on Videoland. In 2024 it nearly reached a million viewers. After 33 years, it remains the highest-rated soap opera in the Netherlands. The soap mainly revolves around the lives of the families Alberts, Sanders, De Jong, Van Houten and Bouwhuis. It is set in the fictional town of Meerdijk. As in any other soap, marriage, divorce, kidnapping and business are a few of the ingredients of ''GTST'', although in recent years ''GTST'' has become known for writing and producing more controversial storylines. ''GTST'' is also known for having a summer break each year, ending a season sometime in June with a cliffhanger, only to resume three months later in September. Although the early cliffhangers often revolved around family drama, later cliffhangers have often revolved around disasters and unexpected twists. Many former actors who once were part of the cast are now well known in the Netherlands and Europe, including Katja Schuurman,

Reinout Oerlemans Reinout Oerlemans (; born 10 June 1971) is a Dutch soap opera actor, film director, television presenter and television producer. He is the founder of the TV production company Eyeworks. In 1989, while studying law at the University of Amsterd ...

Georgina Verbaan Georgina Carolina Verbaan (born 9 October 1979) is a Dutch actress and singer. Verbaan is best known for her recurring role in soap opera '' Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden''. She has also appeared in various Dutch films, including '' Costa!'', '' ...

Antonie Kamerling Anthonie Willem Constantijn Gneomar "Antonie" Kamerling (; 25 August 1966 – 6 October 2010) was a Dutch actor and singer. He was member of the original cast of the Dutch soap opera . He played in the films '' The Little Blonde Death'' (1993), ' ...

, Erik de Vogel, Caroline De Bruijn, Bartho Braat, Inge Schrama and Melissa Drost. In 2014, in a Christmas Day episode, there was a gay marriage in the soap opera when the on-screen couple played by Ferry Doedens and Dave Mantel, decided to get married; this was the first time this happened in a Dutch TV show. In 2016, the show gained a spin-off called ''Nieuwe Tijden'' (English: New Times), which follows some of the younger characters from ''GTST'' and some new characters as they go off to college. ''Nieuwe Tijden'' was cancelled in 2018.

Summary of seasons

Cast

Present main cast members

Present recurring cast members

Former main cast members

Original cast members

References

External links

*
Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden website
{{in lang, nl Dutch television soap operas 1990 Dutch television series debuts 1990s Dutch television series 2000s Dutch television series 2010s Dutch television series 2020s Dutch television series Gay-related television shows Non-Australian television series based on Australian television series RTL 4 original programming Dutch LGBTQ-related television shows Television series by Fremantle (company) Television series by Endemol Television series by Banijay