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{{Short description|Radio or TV serial}}
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[[File:Joanna Miles Larry Keith All My Children 1972.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Publicity photo of married couple Nick Davis ([[Larry Keith]]) and Anne Tyler Davis Martin (Joanna Miles) in the American soap opera ''All My Children'']]

A '''soap opera''' (also called a '''daytime drama''' or '''soap''') is a genre of a long-running [[Social:Radio|radio]] or [[Engineering:Television|television]] [[Engineering:Serial (radio and television)|serial]], frequently characterized by melodrama, [[Engineering:Ensemble cast|ensemble cast]]s, and sentimentality.<ref name="OUP">{{cite encyclopedia | title=soap opera | url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100514820 | encyclopedia=Oxford Reference | edition=online | publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-02 |title=Definition of SOAP OPERA |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soap%20opera#:~:text=:%20a%20serial%20drama%20performed%20originally,characteristic%20of%20a%20soap%20opera |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=soap opera |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/soap-opera |access-date=2 November 2024 |website=Collins Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=soap opera |url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/soap-opera |access-date=2 November 2024 |website=Oxford Learner's Dictionary}}</ref> The term ''soap opera'' originated from radio dramas' original sponsorship by [[Chemistry:Soap|soap]] manufacturers.<ref name="Bowles-118">Bowles, p. 118.</ref> The term was preceded by ''[[Engineering:Horse opera|horse opera]]'', a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Calvert | first1=Ben | last2=Casey | first2=Neil | last3=Casey | first3=Bernadette | last4=French | first4=Liam | last5=Lewis | first5=Justin | title=Television Studies: The Key Concepts | publisher=Routledge | date=2007-08-07 | isbn=978-1-134-19576-3 | page=261 |  url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cNYDD-PHoEEC&pg=PA261 | access-date=2024-07-21}}</ref> Some authorities exclude short-running serial dramas from their definition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=soap opera |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/soap-opera |access-date=2 November 2024 |website=Cambridge}}</ref><ref name="OUP" />

BBC Radio's ''The Archers'', first [[Engineering:Broadcasting|broadcast]] in 1950, is the world's longest-running soap opera.<ref name="Archers">{{cite news|title=May 1950 - The Archers - the world's longest running soap opera|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0168wd7|agency=BBC|date=March 24, 2018}}</ref> The longest-running television soap opera is ''Coronation Street'', which was first broadcast on ITV in 1960.<ref name="Corrie">{{cite news|title=Coronation Street recognised as longest running soap|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-11410873|agency=BBC|date=March 24, 2018}}</ref>

According to Albert Moran, one of the defining features that make a television program a soap opera is "that form of television that works with a continuous open narrative. Each [[Engineering:Episode|episode]] ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode".<ref name="Bowles-121">Bowles, p. 121.</ref> In 2012, ''Los Angeles Times'' columnist Robert Lloyd wrote of daily dramas: {{cquote|Although melodramatically eventful, soap operas such as this also have a luxury of space that makes them seem more naturalistic; indeed, the economics of the form demand long scenes, and conversations that a 22-episodes-per-season weekly series might dispense with in half a dozen lines of dialogue may be drawn out, as here, for pages. You spend more time even with the minor characters; the apparent villains grow less apparently villainous.<ref name="LA Times 2012">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-xpm-2012-jun-18-la-et-hollywood-heights-20120618-story.html|title=Television review: Stars in their eyes in ''Hollywood Heights''|last=Lloyd|first=Robert|date=June 18, 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=December 11, 2013}}</ref>}}

Soap opera storylines run concurrently, intersect and lead into further developments. An individual episode of a soap opera will generally switch between several concurrent [[Social:Narrative thread|narrative thread]]s that may at times interconnect and affect one another or may run entirely independently of each other. Episodes may feature some of the show's 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 seldom conclude all their storylines at the same time. When one story thread ends, there are several others at differing [[Social:Character arc|stages of development]]. Soap opera episodes typically end on some sort of [[Engineering:Cliffhanger|cliffhanger]], as does the [[Engineering:Season finale|season finale]] (if a soap incorporates a break between seasons), the tension 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 present all storylines. 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'' magazine described American daytime television as "TV's richest market",<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=TIME |title=Television: Sex and Suffering in the Afternoon |url=https://time.com/archive/6847593/television-sex-and-suffering-in-the-afternoon/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109183235/https://time.com/archive/6847593/television-sex-and-suffering-in-the-afternoon/ |archive-date=2024-11-09 |access-date=2025-11-14 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> noting the loyalty of the soap opera fan base and the expansion of several half-hour series into hour-long broadcasts to maximise advertising revenues. At that time, many [[Finance:Prime time|prime time]] series lost money, while daytime serials earned profits several times more than their production costs.<ref name="Time 1976">{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/archive/6847593/television-sex-and-suffering-in-the-afternoon/ |title=Sex and Suffering in the Afternoon|date=January 12, 1976 |magazine=Time |access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref> The issue's cover notably featured its first daytime soap stars, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of ''Days of Our Lives'',<ref name="SOD stats Seaforth">{{cite web|url=http://www.soapoperadigest.com/soapstarstats/susanseaforthhayesbio/|title=Soap star stats: Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie, ''DAYS'')|publisher=SoapOperaDigest.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123212146/http://www.soapoperadigest.com/soapstarstats/susanseaforthhayesbio/ |archive-date=January 23, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref><ref name="1985 Encyc">{{cite book|title=The Soap Opera Encyclopedia|last=Schemering|first=Christopher|date=September 1985|isbn=0-345-32459-5|pages=66–73|title-link=The Soap Opera Encyclopedia (Schemering book)|publisher=Ballantine Books }}</ref> a married couple whose onscreen and real-life romance was widely covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press at large.<ref name="1997 Encyc">{{cite book|title=The Soap Opera Encyclopedia|last=Waggett|first=Gerard J.|date=November 1997|publisher=Harper Paperbacks|isbn=0-06-101157-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/soapoperaencyclo00wagg/page/91 91]|chapter=''One Life to Live''|title-link=The Soap Opera Encyclopedia (Waggett book)}}</ref>

==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,'' written by and starring Irna Phillips,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cox|first=Jim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YPlPfU9KSGMC&pg=PA171|title=Historical Dictionary of American Radio Soap Operas|date=2005-11-15|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-6523-5|language=en}}</ref><ref name="hummert">{{cite book|last=Cox|first=Jim|title=Frank and Anne Hummert's radio factory: the programs and personalities of broadcasting's most prolific producers|publisher=McFarland|year=2003|isbn=978-0786416318}}</ref> which premiered on WGN radio Chicago, on October 20, 1930.<ref name="hummert" /> 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.<ref name="Bowles-118" /> ''Clara, Lu, 'n Em'' would become the first ''network'' radio serial of the type when it aired on the NBC Blue Network at 10:30&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]] on January 27, 1931.<ref name="Cox-2005">{{Cite book|last=Cox|first=Jim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YPlPfU9KSGMC&pg=PA59|title=Historical Dictionary of American Radio Soap Operas|date=2005-11-15|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-6523-5|language=en}}</ref> 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; as such, it also became the first network daytime serial.<ref name="Cox-2005" />

==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".<ref name=Bowles-119>Bowles, p. 119.</ref> 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 [[Biography:Stephen Neale|Steve Neale]] has described as 'chance happenings, coincidences, missed meetings, sudden conversions, last-minute rescues and revelations, [[Engineering:Deus ex machina|deus ex machina]] endings.{{'"}}<ref name=Geraghty-30 /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Neale |first=Steve |date=1986-11-01 |title=Melodrama and Tears |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/27.6.6 |journal=Screen |volume=27 |issue=6 |pages=6–23 |doi=10.1093/screen/27.6.6 |issn=0036-9543|url-access=subscription }}</ref> These elements may be found across the gamut of soap operas, from ''EastEnders'' to ''Dallas''.<ref name=Geraghty-30>Geraghty, p. 30.</ref>

In many soap operas, in particular daytime serials in the United States, 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.<ref>Bowles, pp. 119–120.</ref> Many of the soaps produced in those two countries explore social realist storylines such as family discord, marriage breakdown or financial problems. Both British 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 American soap operas where such comedy is rare.<ref name=Bowles-121/> British soap operas frequently make a claim to presenting "reality" or purport to have a "realistic" style.<ref>Geraghty, p. 34.</ref> British 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".<ref name=Geraghty-35>Geraghty, p. 35.</ref>
{{quote box
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| quote = If we want to blend an actor back into a show, there's always a way. You can generally find a way to twist and manipulate something. You rarely see a dead body, but hey, even if you do, he or she can always come back to play the evil identical twin.
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| source = Marlena Laird in 1992, during her time as a line producer and director for ''General Hospital''.<ref name="Returns"/>
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Romance, secret relationships, extramarital affairs, and genuine hate have been the basis for many soap opera storylines. In American daytime serials, the most popular soap opera characters, and the most popular storylines, often involved a romance of the sort presented in paperback romance novels. 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, assault (sometimes sexual), and even murder may go unpunished if the perpetrator is to be retained in the ongoing story.

Australian and British 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 [[Biology:Twin|twin]]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 [[Social:Storytelling|storytelling]] pioneered in the United States during the 20th century – a character's death is [[Social:Comic book death|not guaranteed to be permanent]].<ref name=Returns>{{cite news|last=Richmond|first=Ray|title=Soaps and fans suspend disbelief so their favorite stars can return|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sTEfAAAAIBAJ&dq=bill%20eckert%20general%20hospital&pg=4915%2C1899422|access-date=December 19, 2012|newspaper=Herald-Journal|date=February 20, 1992}}</ref> On ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', Taylor Hayes (Hunter Tylo) was shown to [[Medicine:Flatline|flatline]] and have a funeral. Once Tylo reprised her character in 2005, a retcon 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===
[[File:Rosemary prinz as the world turns.JPG|thumb|right|Publicity photo of Rosemary Prinz as Penny Hughes from ''As the World Turns'']]
The first daytime TV soap opera in the [[United States]] was ''These Are My Children'' 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 shows, sitcom [[Engineering:Rerun|rerun]]s and talk shows.

In 1988, H. Wesley Kenney, who at the time served as the [[Social:Executive producer|executive producer]] of ''General Hospital'', said to ''The New York Times'':<ref name="NYT 25">{{cite news|title=At a Ripe 25, 'Hospital' Is Healthy|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/02/arts/at-a-ripe-25-hospital-is-healthy.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 19, 2012|agency=Associated Press|date=April 2, 1988}}</ref>
{{blockquote|I think people like stories that continue so they can relate to these people. They become like a family, and the viewer becomes emotionally involved. There seem to be two attitudes by viewers. One, that the stories are similar to what happened to them in real life, or two, thank goodness that isn't me. | H. Wesley Kenney}}

Many long-running American 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'' 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'' mostly told its story through the eyes of Joanne Gardner (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'' featured as its central character Mike Karr, a police detective (later an attorney), and largely dealt with organized crime. ''The Young and the Restless'' 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'' (1966–1971), ''Port Charles'' (1997–2003) and ''[[Philosophy:Passions|Passions]]'' (1999–2008) featured supernatural characters and dealt with fantasy and horror storylines. Their characters included vampires, witches, ghosts, goblins, and angels.

The American soap opera ''Guiding Light'' (originally titled ''<u>The</u> Guiding Light'' until 1975) started as a radio drama in January 1937 and subsequently began transitioning to television in June 1952; the television and radio editions of the serial continued to broadcast concurrently until the latter version ended production in 1956. With the exception of several years in the late 1940s, during which creator Irna Phillips was involved in a dispute with [[Company:Procter & Gamble|Procter & Gamble]], ''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, debuted as the first half-hour soap operas on the CBS 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 2025, four of the five American serials air one-hour episodes each weekday; only ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' airs 30-minute episodes.

Soap operas were 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 New York City, 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 Los Angeles. 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 "[[Engineering:Story arc|story arc]]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'', it was briefly discussed that all ABC shows might do telenovela arcs, but this was rejected.

Though American daytime soap operas are not generally [[Engineering:Rerun|rerun]] 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 coverage. (Temporary production stoppages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic 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 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 in the 1990s. After ''The Edge of Night''{{'s}} 1984 cancellation, reruns of the show's final five years were shown late nights on [[Company:USA Network|USA Network]] from 1985 to 1989. On January 20, 2000, a [[Engineering:Digital cable|digital cable]] and [[Engineering:Satellite television|satellite]] network dedicated to the genre, Soapnet, began re-airing soaps that aired on ABC, NBC and CBS.

Newer broadcast networks launched since the late 1980s (such as Fox) and [[Engineering:Cable television|cable television]] networks have largely eschewed offering soap operas on their daytime schedules, instead running [[Engineering:Broadcast syndication|syndicated programming]] and reruns. No cable television outlet has produced its own daytime serial, although [[Company:DirecTV|DirecTV]]'s The 101 Network took over existing serial ''[[Philosophy:Passions|Passions]]'', continuing production for one season; while TBS and CBN Cable Network respectively aired their own soap operas, ''The Catlins'' (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 television network|fourth "major network"]], carried a short-lived daytime soap ''Tribes'' 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 from 2006 to 2007, which aired on newly created sister network MyNetworkTV, but the experiment was largely a failure after disappointing ratings).

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 opera performers in the United States are typically divided into two main groups: primary characters (sometimes referred to as "contract players" &ndash; as their portrayers signed contracts of employment &ndash; or leading characters) and secondary characters (sometimes referred to as recurring 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 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<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060330/us_nm/leisure_world_dc |website=News.Yahoo.com (Internet Archive) |archive-date=April 28, 2006 |title=Actress shares 50th year with ''As the World Turns'' |first=Steve |last=Gorman |year=2006 |access-date=December 12, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428045747/https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060330/us_nm/leisure_world_dc}}</ref> 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 played Audrey Hardy on both ''General Hospital'' and ''Port Charles'' from 1964 until 2007 and returned in 2009. Susan Lucci played Erica Kane 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 played Victoria Lord #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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-jeanne-cooper-dies-dead-young-restless-corbin-bernsen-20130508,0,4586061.story |title=Jeanne Cooper of ''Young and the Restless'' dies at 84 |work=Los Angeles Times |first=Christie |last=Dzurilla |date=May 8, 2013}}</ref>

Other actors have played several characters on different shows. Millette Alexander, Bernard Barrow, Doris Belack, David Canary, Judith Chapman, Keith Charles, Jordan Charney, Joan Copeland, Nicolas Coster, Jacqueline Courtney, Augusta Dabney, Louis Edmonds, Don Hastings, Larry Haines, Vincent Irizarry, Lenore Kasdorf, Teri Keane, Lois Kibbee, John Loprieno, Lori March, Maeve McGuire, Robert Milli, James Mitchell, Lee Patterson, Christopher Pennock, Antony Ponzini, William Prince, Rosemary Prinz, Louise Shaffer, Mary Stuart, Richard Thomas, Diana van der Vlis, Mary K. Wells, Lesley Woods and Michael Zaslow, 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 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 introduced these storylines slowly but surely, first in 1962 when the matriarch of ''The Guiding Light'', Bert Bauer, developed [[Medicine:Uterine cancer|uterine cancer]]<ref name="bauer">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-03-02-fi-24140-story.html|title=Charita Bauer of TV's 'Guiding Light' Dies|date=2 March 1985|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=12 December 2012}}</ref> (as the actress, Charita Bauer, had been diagnosed with the same illness in real life). The storyline encouraged many women to get pap smears<ref name="bauer" /> 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 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 and Rita Bauer's torrid affair. ''Search for Tomorrow'' taped for two weeks in [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] in 1981. Later that year, some of the cast and crew ventured to Jamaica 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 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. 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's drug addiction on ''All My Children'', the re-emergence of Viki Lord's [[Medicine:Dissociative identity disorder|dissociative identity disorder]] on ''One Life to Live'', and Stuart Chandler dealing with his wife Cindy dying of AIDS on ''All My Children''. Other social issues included [[Medicine:Cancer|cancer]], [[Medicine:Rape|rape]], [[Medicine:Abortion|abortion]] and racism.

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, 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 was possessed by the devil (which was revisited in 2021 with the devil possessing several of her relatives as well), and in 1998, ''Guiding Light'' featured a cloning storyline involving legacy character Reva Shayne.

====Traditional grammar of daytime serials====
Modern American daytime soap operas largely stay true to the original soap opera format. The duration and format of storylines and the visual grammar employed by American daytime serials set them apart from soap operas in other countries and from evening soap operas. Stylistically, British and Australian soap operas, which are usually produced for early evening timeslots, fall somewhere in between American daytime and evening soap operas. Similar to American daytime soap operas, British 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. British and Australian soap operas move through storylines at a faster rate than daytime serials, making them closer to American evening soap operas in this regard.

American daytime soap operas feature stylistic elements that set them apart from other shows:
* A construct unique to American 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 American daytime soap operas and other forms of American television drama, which generally allow for narrative time to pass, off-screen, between the scenes depicted.<ref name=Bowles-121/> 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 American 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]] set-up routinely used in [[Engineering:Filmmaking|filmmaking]] and television production is also used on daytime soap operas, sometimes with accentuated back lighting 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".<ref name=Bowles-119/>
* Few American 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, although in recent years, ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' and ''General Hospital'' have taped certain exterior scenes within the grounds of their main soundstages. Australian and British 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 American 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, unlike prime time productions that are usually shot on film and frequently use the single-camera 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 [[Engineering:Close-up|close-up]] shots. Programs in the United States did not make the full conversion to [[Engineering:High-definition television|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 [[Engineering:Standard-definition television|standard definition]] – albeit in the [[Engineering:16:9|16:9]] [[Aspect ratio (image)|aspect ratio]] – until the end of its run on ABC in January 2012. ''Beyond the Gates'', being the first daytime soap opera to debut in the modern high-definition era, broadcast in HD from its premiere in February 2025.
* Soap operas have idiosyncratic [[Engineering:Blocking (stage)|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 American daytime serials, but it is an accepted soap opera convention, sometimes referred to as a "two shot West".<ref name=mittell>{{cite book|last=Mittell|first=Jason|title=Television and American Culture|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|pages=191–192}}</ref>
* 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 [[Engineering:Closing credits|closing credits]], instead of the [[Social:Opening credits|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; ''Beyond the Gates'', beginning with its 2025 premiere, uses a similar alternating title sequence structure as ''The Young and the Restless'', although uniform top billing is given to a handful of its primary lead actors. ({{As of|2025|post=,}} ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''Beyond the Gates'' are the only American daytime soap operas that list the names of their main cast during both their opening titles ''and'' extended closing credit sequence.)<ref>{{cite web|title='General Hospital' Gets New Credits: A Look at 'GH's' Opening Over the Years|url=http://www.aoltv.com/2010/02/25/general-hospital-gets-new-credits-a-look-at-ghs-opening-ov/|author=Michael Maloney|website=The Huffington Post|publisher=AOL|date=February 25, 2010|access-date=August 22, 2015}}</ref>

====Decline====
=====Statistics and trends=====
Soap opera ratings have significantly fallen in the U.S. since the 2000s. Experts believe that this is due to their failure to attract younger demographics, the tendency of modern audiences to have shorter [[Medicine:Attention span|attention span]]s, and the rise of reality television in the 1990s. Nevertheless, Internet streaming services do offer materials in the serial format, a legacy of soap operas.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Shaath|first=Sarah|date=27 March 2019|title=Decline of soap operas: Was OJ Simpson to blame?|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47585335|access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref> However, the availability of such on-demand platforms saw to it that soap operas would never again be the cultural phenomenon they were in the twentieth century, especially among the younger generations, not least because cliffhangers could no longer capture the imagination of the viewers the way they did in the past, when television shows were available as scheduled, not on demand.<ref>{{Cite news|last=O'Donnell|first=Hugh|date=17 February 2015|title=Why the soap opera is in terminal decline|work=The Conversation|url=https://theconversation.com/why-the-soap-opera-is-in-terminal-decline-37669|access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref>

From September 2013 to February 2025, only four daytime soap operas – ''General Hospital'', ''Days of Our Lives'', ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' – were still in production, down from a total of 12 soaps broadcast during the 1990–91 season and a high of 19 in the 1969–70 season; of those, three aired between two broadcast networks and one on streaming. This period marked the first time since 1953 that there were only four soap operas on the air.<ref name="1950s Nielsen">Waggett (1997). "Soap Opera Nielsen Ratings". ''Soap Opera Encyclopedia'', pp. 626–628.</ref> ''The Young and the Restless'', the highest-rated soap opera, had fewer than 5&nbsp;million daily viewers as of February 2012, a number exceeded by several non-scripted programs such as ''Judge Judy''.<ref name="Y&R rating">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/arts/television/after-some-soaps-cancellations-others-adjust.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 | work=The New York Times | first=Taffy | last=Brodesser-Akner | title=After Some Soaps' Cancellations, Others Adjust | date=February 19, 2012}}</ref> Circulations of soap opera [[Finance:Magazine|magazine]]s have decreased and most have even ceased publication; ''Soap Opera Digest'', the last remaining weekly print magazine devoted to the genre, switched to a quarterly "special issue" publication in October 2023, although it continues to publish daily articles and episode summaries online.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adweek.com/news/press/soap-opera-declines-cause-fallout-magazines-139510|title=Soap Opera Declines Cause Fallout for Magazines|work=AdWeek|date=10 April 2012 |access-date=9 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Spangler |first=Todd |title=''Soap Opera Digest'' Is Ending Its Weekly Print Edition |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/soap-opera-digest-discontinuing-weekly-print-edition-1235770929/ |magazine=Variety |access-date=October 27, 2023 |location=United States |issn=0042-2738 |oclc=810134503 |date=October 27, 2023}}</ref> Soapnet, which largely aired soap opera reruns, began to be phased out in 2012 for the children's cable channel Disney Jr., and fully ceased operations the following year.<ref name=latimesblog>Villarreal, Yvonne. "''Show Tracker: What You're Watching'' {{snd}} [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/03/disney-junior-247-channel-launches-friday.html Disney Junior 24/7 channel launches Friday]." ''Los Angeles Times Blog'', 22 March 2012. Web. 19 April 2012.</ref> The Daytime Emmy Awards, 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;<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/daytime-emmy-nominations-young-and-the-restless-tv-pop-1201738398/ |title='Young & Restless' Leads Daytime Emmy Noms But Ceremony Won't Be on TV |magazine=Variety |date=24 March 2016 |access-date=28 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812112840/http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/daytime-emmy-nominations-young-and-the-restless-tv-pop-1201738398/ |archive-date=12 August 2016 }}</ref> the ceremony would eventually return to broadcast television in 2020.<ref name="deadline20200520">{{cite news|last=Hipes|first=Patrick|date=May 20, 2020|title=Daytime Emmys To Air Live Virtual Ceremony On CBS In June; Nominations Coming Thursday|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|location=United States|url=https://deadline.com/2020/05/daytime-emmy-awards-2020-cbs-date-schedule-1202939440/|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref>

Several of the most established soaps on American television ended between 2009 and 2012. The longest-running drama in television and radio history, ''Guiding Light'', barely reached 2.1&nbsp;million daily viewers in 2009 and ended on September 18 of that year, after a 72-year run (including radio).<ref name="Guiding Light ratings">{{cite web|url=http://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/32193-september-14-18-2009/ |title=September 14–18, 2009 – SON Community |date=24 September 2009 |publisher=Boards.soapoperanetwork.com |access-date=2012-04-27}}</ref> ''As the World Turns'' aired its final episode on September 17, 2010, after a 54-year run. Until it ventured back into the genre in 2024, ''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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/arts/television/09soap.html |title=CBS Cancels ''As the World Turns'', Procter & Gamble's Last Soap Opera |work=The New York Times|date=December 9, 2009|access-date=September 17, 2010 | first1=Bill | last1=Carter | first2=Brian | last2=Stelter}}</ref> ''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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2011-apr-15-la-fi-ct-soaps-20110415-story.html|title=Soap operas: ABC ending soaps "All My Children" and "One Life to Live."|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=April 15, 2011|access-date=January 27, 2015}}</ref> Both ''All My Children'' and ''One Life to Live'' were briefly revived online in 2013, before being cancelled again amid creative and intellectual property issues between ABC and Prospect Park (the production company that acquired rights for both serials in a sub-licensing deal with ABC parent [[Company:The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]), ending in September that same year.<ref name=enstars>{{cite web|last=DuBois|first=Lauren|title='All My Children' and 'One Life To Live' Officially Cancelled For Second Time|url=http://www.enstarz.com/articles/28792/20131111/all-my-children-and-one-life-to-live-officially-cancelled-for-second-time-shows-bid-farewell-for-good-video.htm|work=EnStars|access-date=12 November 2013|date=11 November 2013}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tvline.com/2019/11/12/days-of-our-lives-cancelled-cast-fired-season-56/|title=Days of Our Lives: Entire Cast Released From Contract – Is the End Nigh?|last=Ausiello|first=Michael|date=2019-11-12|website=TVLine|language=en|access-date=2019-12-21}}</ref> though the show was later renewed through September 2021.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Andreeva |first1=Nellie |title='Days Of Our Lives' Officially Renewed For Season 56 By NBC |url=https://deadline.com/2020/01/days-of-our-lives-renewed-56th-season-nbc-1202845851/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |date=29 January 2020 |publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC. |access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref> In 2022, NBC announced that ''Days of Our Lives'' would be moved exclusively to its streaming service, [[Software:Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]], making NBC the first of the Big Three networks not to air any daytime soap operas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rice |first=Lynette |date=2022-08-03 |title='Days Of Our Lives' Moving From NBC To Peacock |url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/days-of-our-lives-moving-from-nbc-to-peacock-1235084639/ |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>

In March 2024, CBS Studios and NAACP Ventures, in partnership with [[Company:Procter & Gamble|P&G Studios]] announced that a new soap opera for CBS tentatively titled ''The Gates'', which would be the first soap opera since ''Generations'' to feature a primarily African American cast, was in development.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2024/03/cbs-studios-naacp-venture-developing-new-daytime-drama-cbs-the-gates-1235847660/ CBS Studios NAACP Venture To Develop New Daytime Drama For CBS Called ‘The Gates’]</ref> On April 15, 2024, CBS ordered ''The Gates'' (later retitled ''Beyond the Gates'') to series; it premiered on February 24, 2025,<ref name="Soap Opera Network 11">{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Errol |title=CBS Sets ''Beyond the Gates'' Premiere Date & Time Slot, Drama Series to Stream on Paramount+ |url=https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2024/11/cbs-beyond-the-gates-pemiere-date-time-slot-paramount-plus |website=Soap Opera Network |access-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241112192553/https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2024/11/cbs-beyond-the-gates-pemiere-date-time-slot-paramount-plus |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |location=United States |date=November 12, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> taking the timeslot previously occupied by panel talk show ''The Talk'' (the timeslot successor of ''As the World Turns'', which would end its 15-season run on December 20, 2024<ref>{{Cite web |last=Swift |first=Andy |date=2024-04-12 |title=The Talk Ending With Season 15 at CBS |url=https://tvline.com/news/the-talk-cancelled-cbs-ending-final-season-december-2024-1235199897/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=TVLine |language=en-US}}</ref>), making it the first new daytime soap opera to premiere on a major broadcast network since NBC's ''[[Philosophy:Passions|Passions]]'' in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rice |first=Lynette |date=2024-04-15 |title=CBS Orders 'The Gates' To Series; Daytime Sudser That Centers On A Black Family To Debut In January |url=https://deadline.com/2024/04/cbs-orders-the-gates-to-series-daytime-soap-premiering-january-2025-1235886082/ |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Deadline}}</ref>

=====Causes=====
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.<ref name="WSJ">{{cite news| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304186404576389693935512286#articleTabs%3Darticle | work=The Wall Street Journal | first=Sam | last=Schechner | title=As Venerable Soap Operas Die Off, Fans Fight for One More Life to Live | date=June 18, 2011}}</ref> Those who might watch in workplace breakrooms are not counted, as [[Finance:Nielsen ratings|Nielsen]] does not track television viewing outside the home. The rise of cable and the [[Internet]] has also provided new sources of entertainment during the day.<ref name="WSJ"/> The genre's decline has additionally been attributed to reality television displacing soap operas as TV's dominant form of melodrama.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/arts/television/06kant.html |title=After 72 Years, Springfield Gets a Stop Sign |newspaper=The New York Times | first=Barbara | last=Kantrowitz | date=September 6, 2009}}</ref> An early term for the reality TV genre was ''docu-soap''.<ref>{{cite dictionary|title=docu-soap|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/docusoap|dictionary=Merriam-Webster|access-date=July 10, 2017}}</ref> A precursor to reality TV, the televised 1994–95 O. J. Simpson murder case, 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.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/society/2014/06/oj-simpson-trial-reality-tv-pop-culture|title=How O. J. Simpson Killed Popular Culture|last1=Anolik|first1=Lili|date=7 May 2014|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=16 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Passalacqua|first1=Connie|title=Post-Trial, Is There Life for the Soaps?|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-08-15-ca-35367-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=16 August 2015|date=15 August 1995}}</ref>

Daytime programming alternatives such as talk shows, game shows, and court shows cost up to 50% less to produce than scripted dramas,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/arts/television/09soap.html | work=The New York Times | first1=Bill | last1=Carter | first2=Brian | last2=Stelter | title=CBS Cancels 'As the World Turns,' Procter & Gamble's Last Soap Opera | date=December 9, 2009}}</ref> 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, which led shows to reduce their budgets and cast sizes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/as-the-big-3s-world-turns/|title=As the Big 3's World Turns|newspaper=New York Times | first=Jerry | last=Garrett | date=December 3, 2008 | access-date=May 23, 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mulcahy|first1=Kevin Jr.|title=25 Biggest Blunders In Daytime Soap Opera History|url=http://www.welovesoaps.net/2011/09/25blunders.html|website=We Love Soaps|access-date=16 August 2015|date=25 November 2011}}</ref>

====Current====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Soap
! Network
! Premiered
! Switched to color
! Expanded to hour
! First HDTV broadcast
|-
|data-sort-value="Bold" |''Beyond the Gates''
|CBS
|February 24, 2025
|From the start
|From the start
|From the start
|-
|data-sort-value="Bold" |''The Bold and the Beautiful''
|CBS
|March 23, 1987
|From the start
|N/A
|September 7, 2011
|-
|''Days of Our Lives''
|[[Software:Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]]
|November 8, 1965
|From the start
|April 21, 1975
|November 8, 2010
|-
|''General Hospital''
|ABC
|April 1, 1963
|October 30, 1967
|January 16, 1978
|April 23, 2009
|-
|data-sort-value="Young" |''The Young and the Restless''
|CBS
|March 26, 1973
|From the start
|February 4, 1980
|June 27, 2001
|}

====Former====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Soap
! Network
! Premiere 
! Finale
! Switched to color
! Expanded to hour
! First HDTV broadcast
|-
|''All My Children''
|ABC
|January 5, 1970
|September 23, 2011
|From the start
|April 25, 1977
|February 3, 2010
|-
|''Another World''
|NBC
|May 4, 1964
|June 25, 1999
|June 1966
|January 6, 1975
|N/A
|-
|''As the World Turns''
|CBS
|April 2, 1956
|September 17, 2010
|August 21, 1967
|December 1, 1975
|N/A
|-
|''The Best of Everything''
|ABC
|March 30, 1970
|September 25, 1970
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''The Brighter Day''
|CBS
|January 4, 1954
|September 28, 1962
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Capitol''
|CBS
|March 29, 1982
|March 20, 1987
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''The City''
|ABC
|November 13, 1995
|March 28, 1997
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''The Clear Horizon''
|CBS
|July 11, 1960
|June 15, 1962
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Dark Shadows''
|ABC
|June 27, 1966
|April 2, 1971
|August 11, 1967
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''The Doctors''
|NBC
|April 1, 1963
|December 31, 1982
|October 17, 1966
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''The Edge of Night''
|CBS/ABC
|April 2, 1956
|December 28, 1984
|September 11, 1967
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''The First Hundred Years''
|CBS
|December 4, 1950
|June 27, 1952
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''First Love''
|NBC
|July 5, 1954
|December 30, 1955
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''From These Roots''
|NBC
|June 30, 1958
|December 29, 1961
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Full Circle''
|CBS
|June 27, 1960
|March 10, 1961
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Generations''
|NBC
|March 27, 1989
|January 25, 1991
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Golden Windows''
|NBC
|July 5, 1954
|April 1, 1955
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Guiding Light''
|CBS
|June 30, 1952
|September 18, 2009
|March 13, 1967
|November 7, 1977
|N/A
|-
|''Hawkins Falls''
|NBC
|June 7, 1950
|July 1, 1955
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Hidden Faces''
|NBC
|December 30, 1968
|June 27, 1969
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''How to Survive a Marriage''
|NBC
|January 7, 1974
|April 17, 1975
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Love Is a Many Splendored Thing''
|CBS
|September 18, 1967
|March 23, 1973
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Love of Life''
|CBS
|September 24, 1951
|February 1, 1980
|March 13, 1967
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Lovers and Friends/For Richer, For Poorer''
|NBC
|January 3, 1977
|September 29, 1978
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Loving''
|ABC
|June 26, 1983
|November 10, 1995
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Miss Susan''
|NBC
|March 12, 1951
|December 28, 1951
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Never Too Young''
|ABC
|September 27, 1965
|June 24, 1966
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''The Nurses''
|ABC
|September 27, 1965
|March 31, 1967
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''One Life to Live''
|ABC
|July 15, 1968
|January 13, 2012
|From the start
|January 16, 1978
|December 6, 2010 <small>(EDTV)</small>
|-
|''Our Five Daughters''
|NBC
|January 2, 1962
|September 28, 1962
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''[[Philosophy:Passions|Passions]]''
|NBC
|July 5, 1999
|September 7, 2007
|From the start
|From the start
|N/A
|-
|''Port Charles''
|ABC
|June 1, 1997
|October 3, 2003
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Portia Faces Life''
|CBS
|July 5, 1954
|March 18, 1955
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Return to Peyton Place''
|NBC
|April 3, 1972
|January 4, 1974
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Ryan's Hope''
|ABC
|July 7, 1975
|January 13, 1989
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Santa Barbara''
|NBC
|July 30, 1984
|January 15, 1993
|From the start
|From the start
|N/A
|-
|''Search for Tomorrow''
|CBS/NBC
|September 3, 1951
|December 26, 1986
|September 11, 1967
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''The Secret Storm''
|CBS
|February 1, 1954
|February 8, 1974
|September 11, 1967
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Somerset''
|NBC
|March 30, 1970
|December 31, 1976
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Sunset Beach''
|NBC
|January 5, 1997
|December 31, 1999
|From the start
|From the start
|N/A
|-
|''Texas''
|NBC
|August 4, 1980
|December 31, 1982
|From the start
|From the start
|N/A
|-
|''These Are My Children''
|NBC
|January 31, 1949
|February 25, 1949
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Three Steps to Heaven''
|NBC
|June 27, 1960
|March 10, 1961
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Tribes''
|Fox
|March 5, 1990
|July 13, 1990
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Where the Heart Is''
|CBS
|September 8, 1969
|March 23, 1973
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''A World Apart''
|ABC
|March 30, 1970
|June 25, 1971
|From the start
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''The Young Marrieds''
|ABC
|October 5, 1964
|March 25, 1966
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|}

===The primetime serial===
Serials produced for prime-time slots have also found success. The first prime time soap opera was ''Faraway Hill'' (1946), which aired on October 2, 1946, on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dumonthistory.com/a1.html|title=DuMont Television Network – Historical Web Site|access-date=9 August 2015|archive-date=14 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214212348/http://www.dumonthistory.com/a1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''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) 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'', its spin-off ''Knots Landing'', ''Dynasty'', 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, and passionate antagonist as a key character in the storyline,  respectively, J. R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills), Alexis Colby (Joan Collins), and Angela Channing (Jane Wyman). 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, 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 were increasingly incorporated into American prime time television programs of the period. The first significant drama series to do this was ''Hill Street Blues''. This series, produced by Steven Bochco, featured many elements borrowed from soap operas, such as an [[Engineering:Ensemble cast|ensemble cast]], multi-episode storylines, and extensive character development throughout the series. It and the later ''Cagney & Lacey'' overlaid the police series formula with ongoing narratives exploring the personal lives and interpersonal relationships of the regular characters.<ref>Bowles, p. 123.</ref> 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 and 2000s, such as ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', ''Melrose Place'', ''Party of Five'', ''The O.C.'', and ''Dawson's Creek'', 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'', ''Brothers & Sisters'', ''Ugly Betty'', ''Private Practice'', and more recently ''Revenge'', ''Nashville'', ''Scandal'', ''Mistresses'', and formerly ''Ringer'', which its sister production company ABC Studios co-produced with CBS Television Studios for [[Company:The CW|The CW]]. 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'' and ''Friday Night Lights''. The upstart MyNetworkTV, a sister network of Fox Broadcasting Company, 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 August 2007 after disappointing ratings.{{citation needed|date=June 2013} 
On June 13, 2012, ''Dallas'', a continuation of the 1978 original series premiered on the cable network, TNT. 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 halfway through its run to [[Engineering:Burning off|burn off]] the remaining episodes.

In 2015, Fox debuted ''Empire'', a prime time musical serial centering on the power struggle between family members within the titular recording company. Created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong and led by Oscar nominees Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, the drama premiered to high ratings. The show is strongly influenced by other works such as William Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', James Goldman's ''The Lion in Winter'' and the 1980s soap opera ''Dynasty''. 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 as the Queen's mother). In addition, ABC debuted a prime time soap opera ''Blood & Oil'', following a young couple looking to make money off the modern-day Williston oil boom, premiering on September 27, 2015.

====List of primetime serials====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Soap
! Network
! Premiere 
! Finale
! Number of seasons
! Number of episodes
|-
|''2000 Malibu Road''
|CBS
|August 23, 1992
|September 9, 1992
|1
|6
|-
|''90210''
|The CW
|September 2, 2008
|May 13, 2013
|5
|114<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''American Heiress''
|MyNetworkTV
|March 13, 2007
|July 18, 2007
|1
|65<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Army Wives''
|Lifetime
|June 3, 2007
|June 9, 2013
|7
|117<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Bare Essence''
|NBC
|February 15, 1983
|June 13, 1983
|1
|11
|-
|''Beacon Hill''
|CBS
|August 25, 1975
|November 4, 1975
|1
|13
|-
|''Berrenger's''
|NBC
|January 1, 1985
|March 16, 1985
|1
|12
|-
|''Beverly Hills, 90210''
|Fox
|October 4, 1990
|May 17, 2000
|10
|293<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Blood & Oil''
|ABC
|September 27, 2015
|December 13, 2015
|1
|10<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Brothers & Sisters''
|ABC
|September 24, 2006
|May 8, 2011
|5
|109<br />List of episodes)
|-
|''Central Park West''
|CBS
|September 13, 1995
|June 28, 1996
|2
|21<br>(List of episodes)
|-
|''Dallas'' <small>(1978)</small>
|CBS
|April 2, 1978
|May 3, 1991
|14
|357<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Dallas'' <small>(2012)</small>
|TNT
|June 13, 2012
|September 22, 2014
|3
|40<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Dark Shadows'' <small>(1991)</small>
|NBC
|January 13, 1991
|March 22, 1991
|1
|12<br>(List of episodes)
|-
|''Dawson's Creek''
|The WB
|January 20, 1998
|May 14, 2003
|6
|128<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Deception''
|NBC
|January 7, 2013
|March 18, 2013
|1
|11<br>(List of episodes)
|-
|''Desire''
|MyNetworkTV
|September 5, 2006
|December 5, 2006
|1
|65<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Desperate Housewives''
|ABC
|October 3, 2004
|May 13, 2012
|8
|180<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Devious Maids''
|Lifetime
|June 23, 2013
|August 8, 2016
|4
|49<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Dynasty'' <small>(1981)</small>
|ABC
|January 12, 1981
|May 11, 1989
|9
|220<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Dynasty'' <small>(2017)</small>
|The CW
|October 11, 2017
|September 16, 2022

|5
|108<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Empire''
|Fox
|January 7, 2015
|April 21, 2020
|6
|97<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Falcon Crest''
|CBS
|December 4, 1981
|May 17, 1990
|9
|227<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Faraway Hill''
|Dumont Television Network
|October 2, 1946
|December 18, 1946
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|''Fashion House''
|MyNetworkTV
|September 5, 2006
|December 5, 2006
|1
|65<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Flamingo Road''
|NBC
|May 12, 1980
|May 4, 1982
|2
|38<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Filthy Rich''
|Fox
|September 21, 2020
|November 30, 2020
|1
|10<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Friday Night Lights''
|NBC
|October 3, 2006
|February 9, 2011
|5
|76<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''GCB''
|ABC
|March 4, 2012
|May 6, 2012
|1
|10<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Glitter''
|ABC
|September 13, 1984
|December 25, 1984
|1
|14
|-
|''Gossip Girl''
|The CW
|September 19, 2007
|December 17, 2012
|6
|121<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Grand Hotel''
|ABC
|June 17, 2019
|September 9, 2019
|1
|13<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Grey's Anatomy''
|ABC
|March 27, 2005
|''Ongoing''
|20
|421<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Harold Robbins' The Survivors''
|ABC
|September 22, 1969
|September 17, 1970
|1
|15<br>(List of episodes)
|-
|''Hollywood Heights''
|Nick at Nite/TeenNick
|June 18, 2012
|October 5, 2012
|1
|80<br />List of episodes
|-
|''If Loving You Is Wrong''
|Oprah Winfrey Network
|September 9, 2014
|June 16, 2020
|5
|102<br>(List of episodes)
|-
|''King's Crossing''
|ABC
|January 16, 1982
|February 7, 1982
|1
|10
|-
|''Knots Landing''
|CBS
|December 29, 1979
|May 13, 1993
|14
|344<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Malibu Shores''
|NBC
|March 9, 1996
|June 1, 1996
|1
|10
|-
|''Melrose Place'' <small>(1992)</small>
|Fox
|July 8, 1992
|May 24, 1999
|7
|226<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Melrose Place'' <small>(2009)</small>
|The CW
|September 8, 2009
|April 13, 2010
|1
|18<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''A Million Little Things''
|ABC
|September 26, 2018
|May 3, 2023
|5
|87<br />
|-
|''Mistresses''
|ABC
|June 3, 2013
|September 6, 2016
|4
|52<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Models Inc.''
|Fox
|June 29, 1994
|March 6, 1995
|1
|29
|-
|''Monarch''
|Fox
|September 11, 2022
|December 6, 2022
|1
|11
|-
|''Nashville''
|ABC/CMT
|October 10, 2012
|July 26, 2018
|6
|124<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''North Shore''
|Fox
|June 14, 2004
|January 13, 2005
|1
|21
|-
|''Our Private World''
|CBS
|May 5, 1965
|September 10, 1965
|1
|38
|-
|''Our Kind of People''
|Fox
|September 21, 2021
|January 25, 2022
|1
|12
|-
|''Pacific Palisades''
|Fox
|April 9, 1997
|July 30, 1997
|1
|13<br>(List of episodes)
|-
|''Paper Dolls''
|ABC
|September 23, 1984
|December 25, 1984
|1
|14
|-
|''Party of Five''
|Fox
|September 12, 1994
|May 3, 2000
|6
|142<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Pasadena''
|Fox
|September 28, 2001
|November 2, 2001
|1
|13
|-
|''Peyton Place''
|ABC
|September 15, 1964
|June 2, 1969
|5
|514
|-
|''Private Practice''
|ABC
|September 26, 2007
|January 22, 2013
|6
|111<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Queens''
|ABC
|October 19, 2021
|February 15, 2022
|1
|13
|-
|''Push''
|ABC
|April 6, 1998
|August 6, 1998
|1
|8
|-
|''Revenge''
|ABC
|September 21, 2011
|May 15, 2015
|4
|89<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Ringer''
|The CW
|September 13, 2011
|April 17, 2012
|1
|22<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Riverdale''
|The CW
|January 26, 2017
|August 23, 2023
|7
|137<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Saints & Sinners'' <small>(2007)</small>
|MyNetworkTV
|March 14, 2007
|July 18, 2007
|1
|65<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Saints & Sinners'' <small>(2016)</small>
|Bounce TV
|March 6, 2016
|May 22, 2022
|6
|49<br>(List of episodes)
|-
|''Savannah''
|The WB
|January 21, 1996
|February 24, 1997
|2
|34<br>(List of episodes)
|-
|''Scandal''
|ABC
|April 5, 2012
|April 19, 2018
|7
|124<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Secrets of Midland Heights''
|CBS
|December 6, 1980
|January 24, 1981
|1
|8
|-
|''Star''
|Fox
|December 14, 2016
|May 8, 2019
|3
|48<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''The Catlins''
|Superstation TBS
|April 1, 1983
|May 31, 1985
|N/A
|555
|-
|''The Colbys''
|ABC
|November 20, 1985
|March 26, 1987
|2
|49<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''The Hamptons''
|ABC
|July 27, 1983
|August 24, 1983
|1
|5
|-
|''The Haves and Have Nots''
|OWN
|May 23, 2013
|July 20, 2021
|8
|196 (List of episodes)
|-
|''The Monroes''
|ABC
|September 12, 1995
|October 19, 1995
|1
|13
|-
|''The O.C.''
|Fox
|August 5, 2003
|February 22, 2007
|4
|92<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''The Oval''
|BET
|October 23, 2019
|''Ongoing''
|1
|113<br>(List of episodes)
|-
|''The Round Table''
|NBC
|September 18, 1992
|October 16, 1992
|1
|9
|-
|''The Royals''
|E!
|March 15, 2015
|May 13, 2018
|4
|40<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''The Yellow Rose''
|NBC
|October 2, 1983
|May 12, 1984
|1
|22<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''This Is Us'' 
|NBC
|September 20, 2016
|May 24, 2022
|6
|106<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''Titans''
|NBC
|October 4, 2000
|December 18, 2000
|1
|13
|-
|''Watch Over Me''
|MyNetworkTV
|December 6, 2006
|March 6, 2007
|1
|66<br />(List of episodes)
|-
|''W.E.B.''
|NBC
|September 13, 1978
|October 5, 1978
|1
|5
|-
|''Wicked Wicked Games''
|MyNetworkTV
|December 6, 2006
|March 6, 2007
|1
|66<br />(List of episodes)
|}

===Telenovelas===
The telenovela, 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 [[Engineering:Story arc|story arc]] with a prescribed ending within a year or two of the show's launch, requiring more concise storytelling.

Spanish-language networks, chiefly Univision and Telemundo, have found success airing telenovelas for the growing U.S. Hispanic market. Both 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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Guthrie|first=Marisa|date=1 April 2011|title=How the Telenovela Is Beating the Networks|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-telenovela-is-beating-networks-173938|website=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=16 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Vivarelli|first=Nick|date=21 May 2021|title=Why Turkish Dramas Are Conquering Hispanic Audiences in the U.S. on Univision (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/turkish-dramas-u-s-hispanic-audiences-univision-1234978398/|website=Variety|access-date=28 May 2024}}</ref>

===Online serials===
Some web series 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 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).<ref>{{cite web|last=Potts|first=Kimberly|title='All My Children,' 'One Life to Live' Return as Online Soaps: Six Things You Need to Know|url=https://tv.yahoo.com/news/-all-my-children----one-life-to-live--return-as-online-soaps--six-things-you-need-to-know-214221733.html|work=Yahoo! TV|access-date=21 May 2013|date=29 April 2013}}</ref> Each show initially produced four half-hour episodes a week, but quickly cut back to two half-hour episodes each.<ref>{{cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|title='All My Children' & 'One Life To Live' Change Air Pattern To Two Episodes A Week Each|url=https://deadline.com/2013/05/all-my-children-one-life-to-live-change-air-pattern-to-two-episodes-a-week-each-501601/|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=21 May 2013|date=16 May 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref name=enstars/>

==United Kingdom==
Soap operas in the UK began on the radio and were consequently 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 [[Social:World War II|World War II]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Selling War: The British Propaganda Campaign against American "Neutrality" in World War II | author=Cull, Nicholas John | year=1995 | pages=135–136 | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=0-19-508566-3}}</ref> The BBC continues to broadcast the world's longest-running radio soap, ''The Archers'', which first aired in May 1950, and has been running nationally since 1951.<ref name="Archers"/> It is currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4 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 were one of the most popular genres, with most being broadcast during prime time and often the most watched TV programmes each week. Soap operas have declined in popularity in recent years as viewers move away from broadcast TV to streaming.<ref>{{cite web |title=State of the Arts: Coronation Street in crisis? No, British soaps aren't dead yet |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/coronation-street-soaps-eastenders-b2677091.html |website=The Independent |date=10 January 2025 |access-date=21 June 2025}}</ref> Most UK soap operas focus on everyday, working-class communities, influenced by the conventions of the kitchen sink drama.<ref>{{cite news|title=When kitchen-sink drama revolutionised British cinema|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/classic-british/kitchen-sink-drama-revolution/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/classic-british/kitchen-sink-drama-revolution/ |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|agency=The Telegraph|date=March 24, 2018}} </ref> The most popular soap operas in the United Kingdom are ''Coronation Street'', ''EastEnders'', ''Emmerdale'', ''Hollyoaks'', and the Australian produced ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away''. The first three of these were consistently among the highest-rated shows on British television.<ref name="BARB">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16671101 "Tracking 30 years of TV's most watched programmes"]. BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2015</ref> 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. King Charles III himself made cameo appearances in two of the UK's biggest serials during his time as Prince of Wales: ''Coronation Street'' and ''EastEnders'', the latter alongside his wife Queen Camilla (then Duchess of Cornwall), in 2000 and 2022 respectively. Major events in British culture are often mentioned in the storyline, such as the Home Nations' participation at the World Cup and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.<ref>{{cite news|title=World Cup fever hits Walford|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5076722.stm|agency=BBC|date=24 March 2018}}</ref> Since 1999, The British Soap Awards has been televised on ITV.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Lee+Harpin's+Hot+People+column%3A+Sexy+Mel's+Got+Man+A-Beale!%3B+Soap...-a060149374|title=Lee Harpin's Hot People column: Sexy Mel's Got Man A-Beale!; Soap Awards Special: She wins TV top totty title|last=Harpin|first=Lee|date=16 May 1999|work=The People|access-date=6 July 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Den Ange Divorce.jpg|thumb|A scene from ''EastEnders'' on Christmas Day 1986, watched by 30.15 million viewers. The story, in which Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) served his wife Angie (Anita Dobson) with divorce papers, was the highest-rated soap episode in British history, and the highest-rated program in the UK during the 1980s. Only the 1966 World Cup Final and the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales rank higher in the all time ratings.<ref name="BARB"/>]]
The 1986 Christmas Day episode of ''EastEnders'' is often referred to as the highest-rated UK soap opera episode ever, with 30.15&nbsp;million viewers (more than half the population at the time).<ref name="BARB"/> The figure of 30.15&nbsp;million was actually a combination of the original broadcast, which had just over 19&nbsp;million viewers, and the Sunday omnibus edition with 10&nbsp;million viewers. The combined 30.15&nbsp;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&nbsp;million viewers) and the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 (32.1&nbsp;million viewers) which were transmitted on both BBC One and ITV.<ref name="BARB"/>

===Television===
An early television serial was ''The Grove Family'' 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''.<ref name="Corrie"/> The BBC also produced several serials: ''Compact'' 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!'' 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.

During the 1960s, ''Coronation Street''{{'s}} 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 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'' (later renamed ''Emmerdale''), which began in 1972 in a daytime slot and was set in rural Yorkshire. Increased viewership resulted in ''Emmerdale'' being moved to a prime-time slot in the 1980s.

''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley'') is a [[Social:Welsh language|Welsh language]] 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 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 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://s4c.co.uk/abouts4c/viewing/e_index.shtml |title=s4c.co.uk |publisher=s4c.co.uk |date=2005-11-01 |access-date=2012-04-27}}</ref>

===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 debuted ''Take the High Road'', which lasted for over twenty years. Later, daytime slots were filled with an influx of Australian soap operas such as ''The Sullivans'' (aired on ITV from 1977), ''The Young Doctors'' (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 began operations in 1982, it launched its own soap, the Liverpool-based ''Brookside'', 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&nbsp;p.m. and 8.30&nbsp;p.m. on weekdays, around 5.00&nbsp;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), 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, [[Medicine:Rape|rape]]) 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&nbsp;million viewers. The Christmas Day 1986 episode was watched by 30.15&nbsp;million viewers and contained a scene in which [[Social:Divorce|divorce papers]] were served to Angie Watts (Anita Dobson) by her husband, Queen Vic landlord Den (Leslie Grantham).

A notable success in pioneering late-night broadcasting, in October 1984, Yorkshire Television began airing the cult Australian soap opera ''Prisoner'', which 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&nbsp;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'' 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'', a soap with a youth focus which initially aired only once weekly, but became week-daily in November 2003. When Channel 5 launched in March 1997, it debuted the soap opera ''Family Affairs'', which was formatted as a week-daily soap, airing Monday through Fridays.

''Brookside''{{'s}} 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, [[Social:Incest|sibling incest]], 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&nbsp;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. The storyline drew the soap its highest ever audience of 18&nbsp;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 weekly 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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Honebeek |first1=Talya |title=Where is Doctors filmed? All the BBC soap's Birmingham filming locations |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/showbiz-tv/doctors-filmed-bbc-soaps-birmingham-22273025 |access-date=3 September 2022 |work=Birmingham Mail |publisher=(Reach plc) |date=29 November 2021}}</ref> The series was cancelled in October 2023, with the final episode screened in November 2024.<ref name="Axe">{{cite news |last1=Warner |first1=Sam |title=Doctors axed by BBC after 23 years |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/doctors/a45570567/doctors-axed-bbc-23-years/ |access-date=18 October 2023 |work=Digital Spy |date=18 October 2023}}</ref> In 2002, as ratings for the Scottish serial ''High Road'' (formerly ''Take The High Road'') continued to decline, BBC Scotland launched ''River City'', 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. In 2023, it was announced that&nbsp;''Hollyoaks''&nbsp;had been removed from Channel 4's early evening schedule, but would remain on E4 and&nbsp;Channel 4's on demand service&nbsp;and would upload episodes to&nbsp;YouTube.

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 2005, former ''Hollyoaks'' producer Sean O'Connor moved to ''Family Affairs'', and planned a revamp including a new name and a younger, more glamorous cast, although these plans did not come to fruition due to the show's axing.

In 2008, ITV premiered ''The Royal Today'', a daily spin-off of popular 1960s-based drama ''The Royal'' (itself a spin-off of ''Heartbeat''), which had been running in a primetime slot since 2003. Just days later, soap opera parody programme ''Echo Beach'' premiered alongside its sister show, the comedy ''Moving Wallpaper''. Both ''Echo Beach'' and ''The Royal Today'' ended after just one series due to low ratings. Radio soap opera ''Silver Street'' debuted on the BBC Asian Network in 2004. Poor ratings and criticism of the programme led to its cancellation in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/11_november/16/asian.shtml|title=BBC Press Release|publisher=BBC|access-date=30 January 2010}}</ref>

===Format===
British 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 week-long daily soap in 1997, producing five episodes a week for 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&nbsp;p.m. ''Emmerdale''{{'s}} 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jul/08/coronation-street-move-wednesdays |date=8 July 2009 |access-date=14 September 2020 |work=The Guardian |first=Leigh |last=Holmwood |title=Coronation Street to move from Wednesdays – after nearly 50 years}}</ref> ''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 from late 2017, ''Coronation Street'' would air six episodes a week.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/coronation-street/feature/a799753/coronation-streets-six-episode-week-a-treat-or-a-terrible-idea/|title=Corrie's 6 episodes: A treat or a terrible idea?|date=1 July 2016|author1=Daniel Kilkelly|author2=Sophie Dainty|work=Digital Spy}}</ref>

''Doctors'' aired five episodes a week until 2022, and four episodes from 2022 onwards, and is the only soap without a weekend omnibus repeat screening. ''Hollyoaks'' produces five episodes a week. The imported ''Neighbours'' screened as five new episodes a week. {{As of|2024}}, ''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 which the soap focuses on.

''Hollyoaks'' and ''Family Affairs'' were taped on [[Engineering:High-definition video|high-definition video]], and used the [[Engineering:Film look|filmizing]] process.

==Turkey==

{{As of|2017|post=,}} [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]] is the second largest exporter of television soap operas. In 2016, Turkish TV exports earned $350&nbsp;million, making it the second largest drama exporter in the world behind the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.prensario.tv/novedades/1088-turkish-drama-is-expanding-around-the-world-how|title=Turkish Drama is expanding around the World. How? {{!}} Prensario Internacional|website=Prensario Internacional|language=es|access-date=2018-11-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-37284938|title=Why do South Americans love Turkish TV?|last=Tali|first=Didem|date=2016-09-08|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-11-14|language=en-GB}}</ref> Turkish soap operas have a large following across [[Earth:Asia|Asia]], the [[Place:Balkans|Balkans]], [[Place:Eastern Europe|Eastern Europe]], Latin America, the [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]], and [[Earth:Africa|Africa]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Television series enhances Turkey's popularity in Arab world|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-04/09/c_13820858.htm|publisher=Xinhua|date=2011-04-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412093434/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-04/09/c_13820858.htm|archive-date=2011-04-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2016/02/03/the-success-story-of-turkish-tv-series-in-latin-america|title=The success story of Turkish TV series in Latin America|website=dailysabah.com|date=3 February 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505021557/http://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2016/02/03/the-success-story-of-turkish-tv-series-in-latin-america|archive-date=2016-05-05}}</ref>

==Australia==
:''See List of longest-serving soap opera actors''
Australia has had quite a number of well-known soap operas, some of which have gained cult followings in the United Kingdom, [[Earth:New Zealand|New Zealand]] 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. Unlike soap operas from the U.S. and UK which run year round, Australian soaps are produced in seasons, and every year, usually in November, the season finale in broadcast, with a new season airing from January or February.

Stylistically, these series most closely resemble British soap operas in that they are nearly always shot on videotape, are mainly recorded in a studio and use a multi-camera setup. The original Australian serials were shot entirely in the 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.<ref name=Bowles-120>Bowles, p. 120.</ref> 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.<ref name=Bowles-120/>

===Early serials===
The genre began in Australia on the radio, as it had in the United States and the United Kingdom. One such radio serial, ''Big Sister'', featured actress Thelma Scott 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 making the transition to television. Each episode of this serial ran for 15 minutes and aired each weekday on the Seven Network. ''Autumn Affair'' failed to secure a sponsor and ended in 1959 after 156 episodes. It was followed by ''The Story of Peter Grey'' (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. This rural-based serial was 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'' (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'', a nighttime series produced by Cash Harmon Television for Network 10, which debuted March 1972. The program dealt with such topics as [[Social:Homosexuality|homosexuality]], [[Social:Adultery|adultery]], drug use, rape within marriage and racism, 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, 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 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'' 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'', a carefully produced period serial chronicling the effects of World War II on a [[Place:Melbourne|Melbourne]] 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'' (1977–1984) produced by Crawford Productions for Channel Seven. In early December 1977 Channel Ten debuted the Reg Grundy Organisation produced ''The Restless Years'' (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''. ''Skyways'', which debuted in July 1979, emphasised adult situations including homosexuality, marriage problems, adultery, prostitution, drug use and smuggling, crime, suicide, political intrigue, and [[Social:Murder|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'' (1979–1986) on Network Ten, and melodramatic family saga ''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'' (1982), ''Waterloo Station'' (1983), ''Starting Out'' (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 gentle family drama with some comedic and lightweight situations, for the Seven Network in 1985.

Produced in Melbourne at the studios of HSV-7, ''Neighbours'' achieved high ratings in Melbourne, Brisbane and [[Place:Adelaide|Adelaide]], but not in [[Place:Sydney|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 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 28 July 2022. In November 2022, Amazon Freevee 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, where compared to ''Neighbours'', ''Home and Away's'' storylines were more adult-themed and hard-hitting, as well as becoming the most-awarded and highest-rated soap opera on Australian television, 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'' 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'', 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'' (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'', 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'' (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<ref>Mercado, p. 231.</ref> – 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.<ref>Kilkelly, Daniel. [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a44065/neighbours-ratings-a-cause-for-concern.html 'Neighbours' ratings a cause for concern"] ''Digital Spy.'' March 18, 2007. Accessed 2007-05-19.</ref> 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<ref name=Bowles-119/> and the more grim, naturalistic UK soap operas populated by older, unglamorous characters.<ref name=Bowles-120/> 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,<ref name=Bowles-119/> a middle-ground in which they have found their lucrative niche.

''Neighbours'' was carried in the United States on the Oxygen 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''{{'s}} 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 ''H<sub>2</sub>O: 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 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<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bdvr9 |title=BBC – Out of the Blue – Homepage |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2009-01-29 |access-date=2012-04-27}}</ref> but low ratings prompted its move to BBC Two on 19 May 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv--radio/not-out-of-the-blue/2008/05/12/1210444287750.html|title=Out of the Blue fails to impress UK viewers|publisher=AAP|access-date=2008-05-17 | location=Melbourne | date=May 12, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/news/3265 |title=What's on TV – Top TV listings guide, plus soaps, news, prizes and previews |publisher=Whatsontv.co.uk |access-date=2012-04-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707002638/http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/news/3265 |archive-date=2012-07-07 }}</ref> The series was cancelled after its first season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7483890.stm|title=BBC scrap Out of the Blue soap|website=BBC News|date=July 1, 2008|access-date=2008-09-09}}</ref>

''Neighbours''{{'}} continued low ratings in Australia resulted in it being moved to Ten's new digital channel, Eleven on January 11, 2011.<ref name="EleventhHeaven">{{Cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/eleventh-heaven-as-ten-network-hails-debut/story-e6frg8zx-1225986587144|title=Eleventh heaven as Ten Network hails debut|last=Chessell|first=James|date=13 January 2011|work=The Australian |publisher=News Limited|access-date=12 January 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com.au/soaps/s14/neighbours/news/a464336/neighbours-producer-insists-soap-will-reach-30th-anniversary.html |author=Sophie Dainty |title='Neighbours' producer insists soap will reach 30th anniversary |publisher=digitalspy.co.uk |date=9 March 2013 |access-date=2013-03-30}}</ref>

''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. Months after its series finale, Fremantle Australia, the programme's production company, announced on 17 November 2022, that production on the programme would restart in 2023 after the company agreed on a deal with Amazon Freevee. Amazon Freevee aired the programme for free in the UK and the US while Network 10 retained the rights to the programme.<ref>{{cite web|last=Earp|first=Catherine|title=Neighbours announced for shock 2023 return following Channel 5 axe|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/neighbours/a41988592/neighbours-returning-2023-channel-5-axe/|publisher=Digital Spy|access-date=17 November 2022|date=17 September 2022}}</ref>

In February 2025, the series was cancelled again, with production concluding in July and episodes ceasing to air in December.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kilkelly |first1=Daniel |title=''Neighbours'' axe officially confirmed after 40 years of drama |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/neighbours/a63855528/neighbours-axed-again/ |website=Digital Spy |access-date=20 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250221001716/https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/neighbours/a63855528/neighbours-axed-again/ |archive-date=21 February 2025 |date=20 February 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Turnbull |first1=Tiffanie |title=''Neighbours'' cancelled – again -– two years after Amazon lifeline |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8710r5v0p7o |access-date=21 February 2025 |work=BBC |date=21 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250221153435/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8710r5v0p7o |archive-date=21 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Whittock |first1=Jesse |title=''Neighbours'' Cancelled Again, This Time by Amazon |url=https://deadline.com/2025/02/neighbours-cancelled-again-amazon-1236297102/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=21 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250221153800/https://deadline.com/2025/02/neighbours-cancelled-again-amazon-1236297102/ |archive-date=21 February 2025 |location=United States |date=21 February 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==New Zealand==
===Television===
Pioneering series ''Pukemanu''<ref>NZ On Screen - [http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/pukemanu/series Pukemanu]</ref> aired over two years (1971–72) and was the NZBC's first continuing drama. It followed the goings-on of a North Island timber town.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/pukemanu/series|title=NZ On Screen|access-date=9 August 2015}}</ref>
''Close to Home'' is a New Zealand television soap opera that ran on TVNZ 1 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'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/close-to-home-1975/series|title=NZ On Screen|access-date=9 August 2015}}</ref> ''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'', which has been New Zealand's most popular soap since its debut in 1992. It airs on TVNZ 2.

===Radio===
Radio New Zealand began airing its first radio soap ''You Me Now'' 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'', ''Scarlett Hill'', ''Strange Paradise'', ''Metropia'', ''Train 48'' 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'' and ''North/South'', have also aired. Many of these were produced in an effort to comply with Canadian content 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'', ''Lance et Compte'' ("He Shoots, He Scores"), ''Heartland'', ''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, the ''téléroman'' 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'', ''Diva'', ''La famille Plouffe'', and the soap opera parody ''Le Cœur a ses raisons''.

==India==

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:On the sets of Basera4.JPG|thumb|100px|upright|Indian tele drama deals with emotional themes and negative impact of [[patriarchy]]]] -->
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 when Balaji Telefilms's Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi premiered on Disney's 21st Century Fox owned StarPlus, becoming the highest rated show in Asia on weekdays prime time 10:30pm. 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140502-family-affair-indian-soap-operas|title=Culture, Family affair Indian soap operas|website=bbc.com |date=21 October 2014 }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CAgVZ-lJFIC|title=Soft-soaping India: The World of Indian Televised Soap Operas|isbn=9781858563213|last1=Moti Gokulsing|first1=K.|year=2004|publisher=Trentham Books }}</ref>

==Indonesia==
Soap operas are an important form of entertainment and culture in Indonesia, where they are referred to as "sinetron". Indonesian soap operas are also widely watched in Malaysia and Brunei.

==Europe==
===Remakes of Australian serials===
The Australian serial ''The Restless Years'' was remade in the Netherlands as {{lang|nl|Goede tijden, slechte tijden}} (which debuted in 1990) and in Germany as ''Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten'' (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 [[Engineering:Remake|remake]]s produced under license from the original producers and based, initially, on original story and character outlines. These are ''Verbotene Liebe'' (Germany, 1995–2015); ''Skilda världar'' ([[Place:Sweden|Sweden]], 1996–2002); ''Apagorevmeni agapi'' (Greece, 1998); ''Cuori Rubati'' (Italy, 2002–2003) and ''Zabranjena ljubav'' (Croatia, 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 in Australia from 1989 to 1993. Germany produced 37 episodes of ''Westerdeich'' ("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===
In 1994, NRK started presenting a soap opera-like series of 18 episodes, ''Vestavind'', being an initial attempt at a Norwegian-produced series of this type.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Syvertsen |first=Trine |title=såpeopera |date=2025-12-05 |work=Store norske leksikon |url=https://snl.no/s%C3%A5peopera |access-date=2025-12-10 |language=no |last2=Rustad |first2=Gry Cecilie}}</ref> Other Norwegian productions include ''I de beste familier'' (NRK), ''Offshore'' (NRK; 1996–1999), and ''Familiesagaen De Syv Søstre'' (TV&nbsp;2; 1996–2000).<ref name=":0" /> More recent Norwegian productions that contain soap opera elements include ''Himmelblå'' (2008–2010) and ''Skam'' (2015–2017).<ref name=":0" />

''Hotel Cæsar'' was the first daily soap opera in Norway.<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Tørre |first=David A. |title=Hotel Cæsar |date=2025-01-29 |work=[[Store norske leksikon]] |url=https://snl.no/Hotel_C%C3%A6sar |access-date=2025-12-10 |language=nb}}</ref> It aired from 1998 to 2017, primarily on TV&nbsp;2, then for a year on TV&nbsp;2 Sumo.<ref name=":1" /> It is the longest-running Norwegian TV series, having 3,123 episodes made durings its 19 year production period.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ighanian |first=Catherine Gonsholt |date=2017-12-14 |title=Aller siste farvel med «Hotel Cæsar» |url=https://www.vg.no/rampelys/i/xRP17R/aller-siste-farvel-med-hotel-caesar |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=VG |language=nb}}</ref> As of August 2025, ''Hotel Cæsar'' had around 4,000–5,000 regular viewers on the streaming service TV&nbsp;2 Play, according to [[Social:Communications manager|communications manager]] Jan-Petter Dahl, making it consistently part of the service's top lists.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Midtlyng |first=Hanne Siri |date=2025-08-10 |title=Hotel Cæsar overrasker |url=https://sol.no/nyheter/hotel-caesar-overrasker/83429206 |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=Sol |language=nb-NO}}</ref>


===Netherlands===
Serials have included {{lang|nl|Goede tijden, slechte tijden}} (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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 September 2018 |title=Geen vervolg voor GTST-spinoff Nieuwe Tijden |url=https://www.televizier.nl/soap/geen-vervolg-voor-gtst-spinoff-nieuwe-tijden |website=Televizier}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RTL 4 neemt nog geen afscheid van Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden |url=https://www.mediacourant.nl/2022/06/rtl-4-neemt-nog-geen-afscheid-van-goede-tijden-slechte-tijden/ |website=Mediacourant|date=27 June 2022 }}</ref> 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 language|Dutch]] 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'', 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&nbsp;million viewers tuning in each week. Even though the format proved successful, it was not until 1992 before ''{{Lang|de|Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten}}'' 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&nbsp;million viewers by 2002. Not long after {{Lang|de|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'', 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'' in late 1994.

ZDF started a business venture with Canada and co-produced the short-lived series ''Family Passions'', starring actors such as Gordon Thomson, Roscoe Born, Dietmar Schönherr and a young Hayden Christensen. 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'', ''Forsthaus Falkenau'' and {{Lang|de|Unser Lehrer Doktor Specht}}, 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 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'', before failing with ''Geliebte Schwestern''. RTL II made its own short-lived attempt with ''Alle zusammen – jeder für sich''.

The teen soap opera ''Schloss Einstein'' debuted on September 4, 1998, focusing on the life of a group of teenagers at the fictional titular boarding school near [[Place:Berlin|Berlin]]. 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 {{Lang|de|Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten}}, ''Marienhof'', ''Unter uns'' and ''Verbotene Liebe'', ProSieben aired ''Mallorca – Suche nach dem Paradies'', 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 [[Engineering:Free-to-air|free-to-air]] and pay television.

In 2006, ''Alles was zählt'' became the last successful daily soap to make its debut, airing as a lead-in to {{Lang|de|Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten}} and also produced by Grundy Ufa. Since Germany started to produce its own telenovelas, 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 {{Lang|de|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'' are considered soaps by the press as well, thanks to the changing protagonists every season.

===Belgium===
[[File:Leah Thys thuisdag.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Leah Thys, actress in the Belgian soap ''Thuis''. At the back Peter Rouffaer is visible.]]
In Belgium, the two major soap operas are ''Thuis'' ("Home") and ''Familie'' ("Family"), both prime time soap operas. Soap operas have been very popular in Flanders, 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&nbsp;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 unsuccessful attempted to air the Dutch soap opera "Goede tijden, slechte tijden" 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 the early 2000s, the only teen soap opera on Belgian television was ''Spring'' ("Jump" in English), which aired on the youth-oriented Ketnet 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 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. 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 [[Place:Dublin|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/laweb/brc/brc_1960s.html |title=rte.ie |publisher=rte.ie |access-date=2012-04-27}}</ref> 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" [[Company:Trilogy|trilogy]] ''Bracken'', starring Gabriel Byrne, whose character had appeared in the last few seasons of ''The Riordans''. Bracken was soon replaced by the third "Agri-soap" ''Glenroe'', which ran until 2001.

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. From the early 2000s, the series went through periods of airing three or four episodes a week, airing all 52 weeks of the year. ''Fair City'' currently airs Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on RTÉ One.

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 [[Medicine:Domestic violence|domestic violence]], [[Social:Infidelity|infidelity]], theft, [[Social:Arson|arson]], [[Medicine:Abortion|abortion]], 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 aired on RTÉ One in the early 1990s.

The first soap to air outside RTE/TG4 was ''Red Rock'' which was broadcast on Virgin Media Ireland from January 2015 to 2020 . Red Rock aired twice a week on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Focusing on the activities of the detectives of the local Garda Síochána station and townsfolk, three series of the programme were broadcast, concluding just over five years from the date of its debut.

====Radio====
RTÉ Radio produced its first radio soap, ''Kennedys of Castleross'', which ran from April 13, 1955, to 1975.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/laweb/brc/brc_1950s.html |title=rte.ie |publisher=rte.ie |access-date=2012-04-27}}</ref> In 1979 RTÉ long running TV soap The Riordans moved to Radio until December 24, 1985.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/laweb/brc/brc_1980s.html |title=rte.ie |publisher=rte.ie |access-date=2012-04-27}}</ref> 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''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/radio1/driftwood/1016346.html |title=rte.ie |publisher=rte.ie |access-date=2012-04-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921201707/http://www.rte.ie/radio1/driftwood/1016346.html |archive-date=September 21, 2011 }}</ref> RTÉ does not run any radio soaps, however RTÉ Radio 1 continues to air radio dramas as part of its nighttime schedule.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/radio1/drama/ |title=rte.ie |publisher=rte.ie |date=2010-10-20 |access-date=2012-04-27}}</ref>

===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.
* {{Lang|fr|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 16<sup>e</sup>'' (2009) : Aired on M6.
* ''Les Mystères de l'amour'' (since 2011) : Broadcast by 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.
* ''Cut !'' (2013–2019) : Aired on France Ô.
* ''Demain Nous Appartient'' (since 2017) : Shown on TF1 on Monday to Friday evenings.
* ''{{ill|Un si grand soleil|fr}}'' (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, 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 until 2014 and was followed by ''Halkina Hronia'' (2017–2022).

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 and then by ''Galateia'' (2016-2020).
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 weekday 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), ''Mila Mou'' (which ran from September 2007 to January 2009), ''7 ouranoi ke dinnefa alites'' (2012-2015) and ''Galateia'' (2016-2020)

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 in 1993 as a weekly series, before moving to MEGA Channel Cyprus six years later in 1999 as a weekday show and then moved to ANT1 Cyprus in 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===
[[File:Ismo Laitela (Esko Kovero - Salatut elämät 2018).png|thumb|[[Esko Kovero]] as Ismo Laitela in the TV series Salatut elämät]]
The Finnish soap opera, ''Salatut elämät'' (''Secret Lives''),  has achieved popularity in Finland since its 1999 debut on MTV3. It focuses on the lives of people along the imaginary Pihlajakatu street in [[Place:Helsinki|Helsinki]]. The show has also spawned several Internet spin-off series and a film based on the show that was released in 2012 and the sequel film released in 2014.

Another Finnish soap opera, ''''Rantabaari'''' (''The Beach bar''), started airing on MTV Sub in 2019. It focuses on the lives of the people working at the titular beach bar (later pizzeria) called Trissa, located in Taivallahti in [[Place:Helsinki|Helsinki]], and their friends and family. Rantabaari is the sister series of Salatut elämät and features some characters who formerly appeared at Salatut elämät.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mtv.fi/ohjelma/c8c7e020f6c6ed53e33a/rantabaari|title=Rantabaari|date=2024-07-19|language=fi}}</ref>

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==
'''UAE - KSA'''

AL Mirath (also known as Al Meerath or Inheritance) is the world's first Arabic soap opera. It premiered on MBC 1 and [https://shahid.mbc.net/en/series/Al%20Meerath-season-2023/season-401870-973187 Shahid VIP] on March 1, 2020. The series is a melodramatic saga that delves into the social, economic, and cultural aspects of life in Saudi Arabia. It revolves around the intense rivalry between two families, the Bahitanis and the Khawatnis, and includes elements of romance, secrets, and schemes.

AL Mirath has been a highly successful series. Initially, it was commissioned for 250 episodes. Due to its popularity, the series continued with additional seasons, and by 2023, it had produced 750 episodes.

'''<big>Egypt</big>'''

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, 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 and Portugal. In 1997, Silvio Santos, founder and owner of the Brazilian television network SBT, seeing the good ratings of ''Chiquititas'' in Argentina, decided to make a partnership with Telefe, and thus, SBT started to broadcast ''Chiquititas'' in Brazil, but in the format of "[[Engineering:Remake|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 [[Place:Buenos Aires|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 aforementioned 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'', 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). 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, ''Na Rúin'' (an Internet spin-off of ''Ros na Rún''). The miniseries took on the theme of a 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.

In 1996, Canadian artificial intelligence researcher [[Biography:Chris McKinstry|Chris McKinstry]] created the online soap opera ''CR6'' (an acronym for ''Clickable Reality''); despite its obscurity, it received some media attention at the time and featured talent such as Brendan Fehr; at least eight episodes of ''CR6'' were released. It remains an early example of a web-series but despite the seemingly positive media buzz for the show, according to McKinstry, he lost over [[Finance:Canadian dollar|CAD$]]1 million on production and distribution costs, and ''CR6'' was considered a failure; while McKinstry would take his own life in 2006, thanks to the series' historical context, ''CR6'' has amassed a cult following from lost media searchers.<ref>{{cite web |title=CR6 - Lost Media Wiki |url=https://lostmediawiki.com/Cr6_(lost_early_internet_show;_1997) |website=Lost Media Wiki }}</ref>

==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 that 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'', 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 film, 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 [[Social:Boyfriend|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 programme.

Another 1991 comedy, ''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 parodies have been produced:
* ''The Carol Burnett Show'' (1967–1978) 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 was also the announcer on ''Love of Life''.
* Two of the most famous American parodies were the series ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' (1976–1977) and ''Soap'' (1977–1981), the latter of which was a weekly sitcom/soap opera parody.
* ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'' was a failed syndicated soap opera parody that aired only 60 episodes between January and April 1980.
* The cult Australian prison soap opera ''Prisoner'' (1979–1986) 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'' (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'' was a 1986 American [[Engineering:Miniseries|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'' (1985–1987) 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 the failed BBC soap ''Eldorado'', which was still airing at the time.
* ''Let the Blood Run Free'' (1990–1994) was an Australian parody of medical drama series.
* The 1990–1991 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''.
* The 2000–2001 [[Company:The WB|WB]] sitcom ''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 ''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''{{'s}} 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 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==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* 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"
* Mobile soap opera
* Philippine 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
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* Ang, Ien. ''Watching Dallas: Soap Opera and the Melodramatic Imagination'', Methuen, 1985. {{ISBN|978-0-416-41630-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Bowles |first=Kate |editor-last=Cunningham |editor-first=Stuart |title=The Australian TV Book |date=25 July 2020 |publisher=Routledge |chapter=Soap opera: 'No end of story, ever' |isbn=978-1-000-24791-6 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P-XyDwAAQBAJ&dq=kate+bowles+soap+opera&pg=PT103 |language=en}}
* Geraghty, Christine. ''The Aesthetic Experience'' in Women and Soap Opera: A Study of Prime Time Soaps, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1991. {{ISBN|0-7456-0489-7}}
* Mercado, Andrew. ''Super Aussie Soaps,'' Pluto Press Australia, 2004. {{ISBN|1-86403-191-3}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012153728/http://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA/MGArticle/LNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189641462&path=!burg Timeline of daytime soaps]
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{External links|section|date=November 2024}}
* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/soapopera/soapopera.htm Soap Opera overview – Museum of Broadcast Communications] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050523235035/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/soapopera/soapopera.htm |date=2005-05-23 }}
* [http://www.soaphub.com SoapHub.com – Portal for US soap operas]
* [http://www.soapcentral.com/soapcentral/index.php SoapCentral.com – Portal for US soap operas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821081650/http://www.soapcentral.com/soapcentral/index.php |date=2011-08-21 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071110171238/http://www.soapdom.com/ Soapdom.com – Portal for US soap operas]
* [http://www.soapoperadigest.com SoapOperaDigest.com – Portal for US soap operas]
* [http://www.soaps.com Soaps.com – Portal for US soap operas]
* [http://www.myspace.com/pastsoaps Soaps of the Past page on MySpace] (US soap operas)
* [http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/ What's on TV – Portal for UK soap operas]
* [http://members.ozemail.com.au/~fangora/index.html The Aussie Soap Archive – Classic Australian soap operas]
* [http://www.thesoapshow.com The Soap Show] Interviews and news on UK and Australian soaps

{{US radio soaps}}
{{US daytime soaps}}
{{Soap operas in the United Kingdom}}
{{Dramatic television series}}


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[[Category:Television terminology]]

{{Sourceattribution|Soap opera}}