History Main / SoapOpera

There are two mains schools of Soap Opera, the "Anglo" School, common to the USA, UK, and Australia; and the "Latin" School a.k.a. "Telenovela" or "Culebrón" (from "culebra", a word for "snake", which alludes to their length), which is the standard in every Latin nation from Mexico southwards. The principal difference between both schools is how long their continuous production runs: "Anglo" soaps are typically LongRunners, easily extending themselves for years and even ''decades'' when successful (the record-holder being ''(The) Series/GuidingLight'', 1937-2009), while the longest "Latin" soap lasted four years, with the average time being six to ten months. This difference holds globally: for instance, Arabic soaps are quite obviously of the "Latin" School, running for short periods of time (sometimes even just one month: Ramadan, when their viewers are frequently too tired during the day to do anything other than watch TV). Japanese, Korean, and other Asian dramas also resemble this school. On the other hand, German soaps are typically of the "Anglo" school, lasting for years and years.

* ''Crystal'' : two woman who raised themselves out of their CinderellaCircumstances, mother and daughter, cross paths; tragedy ensues as the former ruins the life of the latter while unaware of their real relationship. Remade several times.

* ''Escrava Isaura'' ("Isaura the Slave"), about a white slave in Colonial Brazil.

** Most of the remaining U.S. soaps air in a time period close to, if not over, the lunch hour. (''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful'' and ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'' on CBS, and ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'' on NBC. Only ABC's ''GeneralHospital'' airs outside that time frame (but in many places in the Central and Mountain time zones, it airs at 1 p.m., just outside the lunch hour).

* ''{{Hollyoaks}}''

** Most of the remaining U.S. soaps air in a time period close to, if not over, the lunch hour. (''TheBoldAndTheBeautiful'' and ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'' on CBS, and ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'' on NBC. Only ABC's ''GeneralHospital'' airs outside that time frame (but in many places in the Central and Mountain time zones, it airs at 1 p.m., just outside the lunch hour).

* ''TheBoldAndTheBeautiful''

The main difference ''within'' the Anglo school is that US soaps often feature filthy rich characters with big houses and glamorous clothing (think ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' or ''Series/{{Dynasty}}''), Australian ones usually feature middle class suburban white people, often young and healthy (''Series/{{Neighbours}}'', ''Sons and Daughters'', ''Series/HomeAndAway''), while the British soaps are either lower-middle class (''{{Brookside}}'') or [[KitchenSinkDrama grimly and grimily working class]] (''{{Eastenders}}'', ''Series/CoronationStreet''). The feature common to all three flavours is that there is no one main character; rather, characters drift in and out of [[CharacterFocus focus]] as the storylines go on. Some characters may be more memorable or have more influence on TheVerse than others, but [[EnsembleCast nobody can be said to be the protagonist]]. (See also: SoapWheel.)

* ''{{Brookside}}''

* ''Series/PorEstasCalles'' (In those streets). A telenovela with social issues about poverty, corrupt goverment and murders in a poor "Barrio". Almost all the lead characters are poor and struggle for reach a good living way, but the criminality and the corruption don't let them progress. The most longest Telenovela in Venezuelan history: Almost three years of duration.

There are two mains schools of Soap Opera, the "Anglo" School, common to the USA, UK, and Australia; and the "Latin" School a.k.a. "Telenovela" or "Culebrón" (from "culebra", a word for "snake", which alludes to their length), which is the standard in every Latin nation from Mexico southwards. The principal difference between both schools is how long their continuous production runs: "Anglo" soaps are typically LongRunners, easily extending themselves for years and even ''decades'' when successful (the record-holder being ''(The) Series/GuidingLight'', 1937-2009), while the longest "Latin" soap lasted four years, with the average time being six to ten months. This difference holds globally: for instance, Arabic soaps are quite obviously of the "Latin" School, running for short periods of time (sometimes even just one month: Ramadan, when their viewers are frequently too tired during the day to do anything other than watch TV). Japanese, Korean, and other Asian dramas also resemble this school.

* The second is that the TV landscape in general has inverted in America. Originally, soaps were allowed to be edgy while {{prime time}} was more conservative. (Back in the '50s, ''Series/ILoveLucy''[='=]s Lucy and Ricky Ricardo weren't allowed to say the word "pregnant", and ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow''[='=]s Laura Petrie was criticized for wearing pants.) As primetime TV has gotten edgier, daytime TV has, conversely, gotten somewhat stodgier. They seem to have intersected during the mid-1970's, when [[Series/AllMyChildren Erica Kane]] and [[Series/{{Maude}} Maude Finlay]] both got landmark abortions within a few months of each other. Soaps had a surge during the Eighties with the likes of Supercouple [[Series/GeneralHospital Luke and Laura]], but at that point, Prime Time was creating edgy shows with topical themes such as ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' and ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'', (which were ''sitcoms'' and were still dealing with issues such as HIV and domestic violence, to say nothing of dramas of the time,) and soaps began to decline. In addition, the soap opera has become part of the DNA of television drama -- it no longer needs to be contained in just daytime serials (shows such as ''Revenge'' and the ''Dallas'' revival show that people still have a fondness for soaps, it's just that the mechanics of a heavily serialized daily show in primetime can't keep up with modern audiences.)

* The second is that the TV landscape in general has inverted in America. Originally, soaps were allowed to be edgy while {{prime time}} was more conservative. (Back in the '50s, ''Series/ILoveLucy''[='=]s Lucy and Ricky Ricardo weren't allowed to say the word "pregnant", and ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow''[='=]s Laura Petrie was criticized for wearing pants.) As primetime TV has gotten edgier, daytime TV has, conversely, gotten somewhat stodgier. They seem to have intersected during the mid-1970's, when [[Series/AllMyChildren Erica Kane]] and [[Series/{{Maude}} Maude Finlay]] both got landmark abortions within a few months of each other. Soaps had a surge during the Eighties with the likes of Supercouple [[Series/GeneralHospital Luke and Laura]], but at that point, Prime Time was creating edgy shows with topical themes such as ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' and ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'', and soaps began to decline. In addition, the soap opera has become part of the DNA of television drama -- it no longer needs to be contained in just daytime serials (shows such as ''Revenge'' and the ''Dallas'' revival show that people still have a fondness for soaps, it's just that the mechanics of a heavily serialized daily show in primetime can't keep up with modern audiences.)

* ''Series/YoSoyBettyLaFea'', a Colombian soap, later remade in Mexico and again revamped in America as the {{Dramedy}} ''UglyBetty''; THE most successful soap '''in history''', it's been imitated all around the world.

* ''{{Zorro}}: La espada y la rosa'' ("The Sword and the Rose"). Yes, there was a Zorro telenovela (loosely inspired by Isabel Allende's HotterAndSexier version).

Practically every nation on earth has soap operas (radio and TV), and loads of soaps are one thing you can ''always'' count on an expatriate/tourist station for any given country carrying (except for military broadcasters, obviously).

* ''RyansHope''

* ''Senda de gloria'' (Path of Glory): A historical soap opera. It was one of the first telenovelas that did not shy away from [[DarkerAndEdgier showing]] [[WarIsHell how brutal]] the MexicanRevolution was, and how it shaped modern Mexico. Notable also for the fact that Televisa [[DoingItForTheArt took a lot of pains]] [[ShownTheirWork to ensure they got everything right]]. It was ScrewedByTheNetwork due to a political problem between the ruling party and the son of one of the presidents shown there.

Frequently brings characters BackFromTheDead (to the point that on ''Series/{{Friends}},'' Joey, after being killed off from ''DaysOfOurLives'', poked fun that he could come back, and he did), features onscreen [[TheMasochismTango screaming matches]] and has [[LoveDodecahedron every imaginable configuration]] of characters sleeping with each other. Soap operas watched by [[ShowWithinAShow fictional characters]] always turn this drama UpToEleven, described by the trope SoapWithinAShow.

** Most of the remaining U.S. soaps air in a time period close to, if not over, the lunch hour. (The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless on CBS, and DaysOfOurLives on NBC. Only ABC's GeneralHospital airs outside that time frame (but in many places in the Central and Mountain time zones, it airs at 1 p.m., just outside the lunch hour).

* ''DaysOfOurLives''

You can see the level of respect that schools have for their productions by the timeslot they put them in: Spanish and Portuguese speakers often run their soaps in Prime Time, as do the Brits with their best soaps and favourite Aussie imports; whereas US stations traditionally quarantine soaps in an early morning or early afternoon timeslot. That said, daytime soaps were reliable moneyspinners for the American networks from the days of {{radio}} all the way into TheNineties, and served as a career springboard for many actors and actresses who went on to great success in more "legit" film and TV productions.

->''People don't want to pay 8 or 9 dollars to go see a problem that they have in their life, on screen. They pay to get away from that. That's why they watch soap operas.''

* ''TheEdgeOfNight''

Many in the industry predict that while the soap opera will live on in American TV, the last of the American daytime serials will be off the air by 2015. [=SOAPNet=], the one cable network dedicated to the genre and where most of the programs repeat, was removed from many cable systems in early 2012 to be replaced by Disney Junior, and its end was used as an excuse by ABC's daytime chief to kill ''All My Children'' and ''One Life to Live''.[[hottip:*: Although many soap fans feel that the truth is that then-ABC daytime chief Brian Frons, who had a history of cancelling soaps dating back to the series "Santa Barbara", had a vendetta against fans for rejecting his vision of what the ABC soaps should be, namely an emphasis on gratuitous sex and violence over storytelling, as well as firing veteran cast members without warning.]]

Aside from the fantastic elements (and even there, [[MagicRealism the line is blurry]]), this is largely the DistaffCounterpart to {{comic book}}s, although the fans of that medium [[FandomBerserkButton will never admit it]].[[hottip:*: Coincidentally, ''Series/GuidingLight'' and ''Marvel'' had a crossover comic book made in 2006.]] ProfessionalWrestling has at times been called "Soap Operas for men."

* ''¿Dónde está Elisa?'' ("Where Is Elisa?") is a Chilean ''night telenovela'' (a new telenovela format in which the series is aired around 10 PM so it can be DarkerAndEdgier / HotterAndSexier than the standard) about what happens when the daughter of a powerful family disappears. Includes actress Paola Volpato's ''incredibly'' scary {{Yandere}} Consuelo, bringer of a HUGE twist: [[spoiler: Elisa was not only was kidnapped by a lover ''who is also her uncle'' as well as Consuelo's husband, [[TheHeroDies but she actually]] ''[[TheHeroDies gets shot to death]]''.]]

* ''AnotherWorld''

* ''Corazón salvaje'' ("Wild Heart"), a HistoricalFiction-based novela about a sensual and rebellious man named "Juan del Diablo" (Juan of the Devil). It has seen a lot of remakes ever since it was made.

* ''Los títeres'' ("The Marionettes"). Classic Chilean ''telenovela'' from TheEighties in which a Greek girl named Artemisa Mykonos gets [[BreakTheCutie thoroughly broken and humiliated]] by her evil cousin Adriana and her friends in TheSixties, and returns twenty years later as a BrokenBird -- both to have revenge on Adriana and to face her own ghosts. Famous due to the incredibly well-done script (written by Chilean playwright Sergio Vodanovic), the ShockingSwerve of an end that the BigBad ([[spoiler: [[GoMadFromTheRevelation lost her mind]] when her plans failed, and then [[ManChild mentally reverted to a childish mindset]] ]]), and the enormously creepy [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF6wKNJQGwI OP sequence]].

* ''LaMadrastra'' ("The Stepmother"), another Chilean soap but better known from its Mexican remake, about a woman who, while attempting to solve the MiscarriageOfJustice which left her in prison for two decades, ends becoming the stepmother of her own children (who were told she died and were too young to remember her when she was sent to jail). And that's before the plot becomes truly convoluted.
* ''SinSenosNoHayParaiso'' ("Without Breasts There Is No Paradise"): The series is based on investigative journalist Gustavo Bolivar's debut novel "Sin tetas no hay paraíso" which has the same title except using a more vulgar expression; it features an attractive young prostitute who desires to have massive breast implants in order to attract a rich cocaine smuggler. It is based on a true story.

* ''CunaDeLobos'' ("Den of Wolves"). Another [[TheEighties eighties]] classic made in Mexico about an aristocratic family fighting among themselves over inheritance (name and money) rights.

* ''ImperioDeCristal''

* The "Trilogy of the Marías" (''Maria Mercedes'', ''Marimar'', and ''MariaLaDelBarrio'') , a group of soaps with "Mari­a" in some part of their title, that catapulted their shared main actress, Mexican singer Thalia, from mere local fame to international superstardom.

* ''LaCatrina''

* ''Series/Malparida''

Frequently brings characters BackFromTheDead (to the point that on ''{{Friends}},'' Joey, after being killed off from ''DaysOfOurLives'', poked fun that he could come back, and he did), features onscreen [[TheMasochismTango screaming matches]] and has [[LoveDodecahedron every imaginable configuration]] of characters sleeping with each other. Soap operas watched by [[ShowWithinAShow fictional characters]] always turn this drama UpToEleven, described by the trope SoapWithinAShow.

There are two mains schools of SoapOpera, the "Anglo" School, common to the USA, UK, and Australia; and the "Latin" School a.k.a. "Telenovela" or "Culebrón" (from "culebra", a word for "snake", which alludes to their length), which is the standard in every Latin nation from Mexico southwards. The principal difference between both schools is how long their continuous production runs: "Anglo" soaps are typically LongRunners, easily extending themselves for years and even ''decades'' when successful (the record-holder being ''(The) GuidingLight'', 1937-2009), while the longest "Latin" soap lasted four years, with the average time being six to ten months. This difference holds globally: for instance, Arabic soaps are quite obviously of the "Latin" School, running for short periods of time (sometimes even just one month: Ramadan, when their viewers are frequently too tired during the day to do anything other than watch TV). Japanese, Korean, and other Asian dramas also resemble this school.

The main difference ''within'' the Anglo school is that US soaps often feature filthy rich characters with big houses and glamorous clothing (think ''{{Dallas}}'' or ''{{Dynasty}}''), Australian ones usually feature middle class suburban white people, often young and healthy (''{{Neighbours}}'', ''SonsAndDaughters'', ''HomeAndAway''), while the British soaps are either lower-middle class (''{{Brookside}}'') or [[KitchenSinkDrama grimly and grimily working class]] (''{{Eastenders}}'', ''CoronationStreet''). The feature common to all three flavours is that there is no one main character; rather, characters drift in an out of [[CharacterFocus focus]] as the storylines go on. Some characters may be more memorable or have more influence on TheVerse than others, but [[EnsembleCast nobody can be said to be the protagonist]]. (See also: SoapWheel.)

The Latin Soap Opera (AKA the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telenovela telenovela]]'') has two main styles: the classical, or "pink", and the "modern". The first style centers on classic and melodramatic pure love stories with poor, NaiveEverygirl heroines that are often TooDumbToLive, while the second tries to [[GenreBusting use resources from other genres]] and explore modern social issues without neglecting the love story side. Stereotypically, the pink ''telenovela'' is a Mexican and Venezuelan staple, the modern style is predominant in Colombia and Brazil (though Mexicans and Venezuelans occasionally try their hand on it), and Chilean ''telenovelas'' are a mix of both. Curiously, a variant of the Latin school is also predominant in the Philippines that's partly influenced by Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean dramas; these tend to largely be of the classical style albeit with more emphasis on social divides.

You can see the level of respect that schools have for their productions by the timeslot they put them: Spanish and Portuguese speakers often run their soaps in Prime Time, as do the Brits with their best soaps and favourite Aussie imports; whereas US stations traditionally quarantine soaps in an early morning or early afternoon timeslot. That said, daytime soaps were reliable moneyspinners for the American networks from the days of {{radio}} all the way into TheNineties, and served as a career springboard for many actors and actresses who went on to great success in more "legit" film and TV productions.

Nowadays, however, that is becoming increasingly less the case. It would seem that in America, daytime soap operas are at the beginning of their end. Four of the longest running and most successful soaps in history have recently reached their finale, ''GuidingLight'' was cancelled in 2009, ''AsTheWorldTurns'' in 2010, ''AllMyChildren'' in 2011 and ''OneLifeToLive'' in 2012, and many are saying that they are the first, but definitely not the last casualties. There are several popular theories as to why this is happening:
* The first is the feminist movement and the rise of women in the workforce. When soaps began, women were still primarily {{housewi|fe}}ves who would be home during daytime, which is the domain of soaps in America (meaning they had a potential audience of almost half the American population.) However, as more and more families became two-income families, there simply weren't as many people home to watch. One potential sign of this is that the most successful current daytime soap is ''The Young and The Restless,'' which runs most often at a 12:30 timeslot, when people who work a typical 9-to-5 job will be able to tune in during their lunch break.
* The second is that the TV landscape in general has inverted in America. Originally, soaps were allowed to be edgy while {{prime time}} was more conservative. (Back in the '50s, ''ILoveLucy''[='=]s Lucy and Ricky Ricardo weren't allowed to say the word "pregnant", and ''TheDickVanDykeShow''[='=]s Laura Petrie was criticized for wearing pants.) As primetime TV has gotten edgier, daytime TV has, conversely, gotten somewhat stodgier. They seemed to have intersected during the mid-1970's, when [[AllMyChildren Erica Kane]] and [[Series/{{Maude}} Maude Finlay]] both got landmark abortions withing a few months of each other. Soaps had a surge during the Eighties with the likes of Supercouple [[GeneralHospital Luke and Laura]], but at that point, Prime Time was creating edgy shows with topical themes such as {{Roseanne}} and TheGoldenGirls, and Soaps began to decline. In addition, the soap opera has become part of the DNA of television drama -- it no longer needs to be contained in just daytime serials (Shows such as ''Revenge'' and the ''Dallas'' revival show that people still have a fondness for soaps, it's just that the mechanics of a heavily serialized daily show in primetime can't keep up with modern audiences.)

Aside from the fantastic elements (and even there, [[MagicRealism the line is blurry]]), this is largely the DistaffCounterpart to {{comic book}}s, although the fans of that medium [[FandomBerserkButton will never admit it]].[[hottip:*: Coincidentally, ''GuidingLight'' and ''Marvel'' had a crossover comic book made in 2006.]] ProfessionalWrestling has at times been called "Soap Operas for men."

* ''AllMyChildren''

* ''AsTheWorldTurns''
* ''{{Ballykissangel}}''

* ''CoronationStreet''

* ''GeneralHospital''
* ''GuidingLight''
* ''[[GuteZeitenSchlechteZeiten Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten]]''

* ''HomeAndAway''

* ''{{Neighbours}}''
* ''OneLifeToLive''
* ''{{Passions}}''
* ''[[PobolYCwm Pobol y Cwm]]''

* ''SantaBarbara''

* ''{{Soap}}''

* ''TheYoungAndTheRestless''

* ''La Impostora'' ("The Impostor')-A rich woman tricks a poor lookalike into taking her place so she can be free to have an affair. One of the most popular novelas ever, it's been remade several times.
* ''Roque Santeiro'': Originally conceived (and canned by censorship) at the height of Brazil's military regime, this one got a new version in the mid 80's, achieving ratings close to 100% in Brazil and some other countries. The largest open-air market in Africa is named after it.
* ''Kassandra'', a classic tale of SwitchedAtBirth who become the most famous telenovela in the world during the early Nineties.
* ''Crystal'' : two woman who raised over their CinderellaCircumstances, mother and daughter, cross their paths; tragedy ensues as the former ruins the life of the latter while unknowing of their real relationship. Remade several times.
* ''Esmeralda'' (and its similarly-titled epygones ''Topacio'' and ''Ruby'')- all are about poor, blind women named after gemstones.
* ''El Derecho de Nacer'', ("The Right To Be Born") which was born on the radio and has had countless TV remakes.
* ''Senda De Gloria'', (Path of Glory) A historical soap opera. It was one of the first telenovelas that did not shy away from [[DarkerAndEdgier showing]] [[WarIsHell how brutal]] the MexicanRevolution was, and how it shaped modern Mexico. Notable also for the fact that Televisa [[DoingItForTheArt took a lot of pains]] [[ShownTheirWork to ensure they got everything right]]. It was ScrewedByTheNetwork due to a political problem between the ruling party and the son of one of the presidents shown there.
* ''Los Ricos También Lloran'' ("The Rich Also Cry"), which was the first soap opera that Televisa exported to countries outside of the American continent. [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff It became very famous in the ex-USSR countries]] and brought fame to Verónica Castro, the actress who played the female lead.

* ''Escrava Isaura'' ("Isaura the Slave"), about a white slave on Colonial Brazil.

* ''Vale Tudo'' ("Anything Goes", famous 80s Brazilian soap)
* ''O Clone'' ("The Clone", Brazilian soap about [[ActingForTwo a guy, his twin brother]] and [[UpToEleven his clone]], along with some stereotypes of Arab culture and very [[HellIsThatNoise narmy soundtrack]])
* ''Pobre Diabla'' ("Poor She-Devil") (In Spanish "poor devil" means "loser")
* ''Pasión de Gavilanes'' ("Passion of the Sparrowhawks")
* ''YoSoyBettyLaFea'', a Colombian soap, later remade in Mexico and again revamped in America as the {{Dramedy}} ''UglyBetty''; THE most successful Soap '''in history''', it's been imitated all around the world.
* ''Café con Aroma de Mujer'' ("Coffee with the scent of a woman"), the previous most successful soap and a classic of TheNineties, set in Colombian coffee plantations.
* ''Amar en Tiempos Revueltos'' ("To Love in Turbulent Times") and ''Calle Nueva'' ("New Street") are two successful Spanish ''culebrones'' ("big snakes"- that's slang for a soap... on account of their being as long as snakes.)
* ''Corazón Salvaje'' ("Wild Heart"), an HistoricalFiction-based novela about a sensual and rebellious man named "Juan del Diablo" (Juan of the Devil). It has seen a lot of remakes ever since it was made.
* ''RebeldeWay'' (from Argentina) and its Mexican remake ''Rebelde'' ("Rebel"), a TeenDrama in soap opera clothing, each one spawning musical groups.

* ''Anjo mau / Angel malo'': Another telenovela which has a GoldDigger {{Anti Hero}}ine, but now in ambiented in Brazil (or Chile, if we see its remake).
* Though not a SoapOpera, Lorena in ''Series/TheBrothersGarcia'' loves Telenovelas, and in one episode tries to break the record of most telenovelas watched in one sitting. She barely misses it, giving up when she realizes how melodramatic they are, and decides to become an activist for social change unlike the characters in the ones she watches (likely of the "Pink" subcategory) who quietly suffer.
* ''{{Zorro}}: La Espada Y La Rosa'' ("The Sword And The Rose"). Yes, there was a Zorro telenovela (loosely inspired by Isabel Allende's HotterAndSexier version).
* ''¿Dónde Está Elisa?'' ("Where is Elisa?") is a Chilean ''night telenovela'' (a new telenovela format in which the series is aired around 10 PM so it can be DarkerAndEdgier / HotterAndSexier than the standard) about what happens when [[TheOjou the daughter of a powerful family]] disappears. Includes actress Paola Volpato's ''incredibly'' scary {{Yandere}} Consuelo, bringer of a HUGE twist: [[spoiler: Elisa was not only was kidnapped by a lover ''who is also her uncle'' as well as Consuelo's husband, [[TheHeroDies but she actually]] ''[[TheHeroDies gets shot to death]]''.]]
* ''LaMadrastra'' ("The Stepmother"), another Chilean soap but better known by its Mexican remake, about a woman who, while attempting to solve the MiscarriageOfJustice who left her in prison for two decades, ends becoming the stepmother of her own children (who were told she died and were too young to remember her when she was sent to jail). And that's before the plot becomes truly convoluted.
* ''Series/Sos mi vida''
* SinSenosNoHayParaiso (Without Breasts There Is No Paradise): The series is based on investigative journalist Gustavo Bolivar's debut novel "Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso" which translates to the same title but with a more vulgar connotation and features an attractive young prostitute who desires to have massive breast implants in order to attract a rich cocaine smuggler. It is also based on a true story.
* ''Los Títeres'' ("The Marionettes"). Classic Chilean ''telenovela'' from TheEighties in which a Greek girl named Artemisa Mykonos gets [[BreakTheCutie throughly broken and humiliated]] by her evil cousin Adriana and her friends in TheSixties, and returns twenty years later as a BrokenBird -- both to have revenge on Adriana and to face her own ghosts. Famous due to the incredibly well-done script (written by Chilean playwright Sergio Vodanovic), the ShockingSwerve of an end that the BigBad got ([[spoiler: [[GoMadFromTheRevelation losing her mind]] when her plans fail, and then [[ManChild mentally reversion to a childish mindset]] ]]), and the enormously creepy [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF6wKNJQGwI OP sequence]]
* ''Nada Personal'' ("Nothing Personal"). Made in TheNineties. Noteworthy only because it was the first Mexican soap to try and deal with then current national politics.
* ''ElMaleficio'' ("The Curse"). A Mexican production from the Eighties. This one is peculiar for its STRONG [[{{Horror}} supernatural]] elements.
* ''CunaDeLobos'' ("Cradle of Wolves"). Another [[TheEighties eighties]] classic made in Mexico about an aristocratic family infighting over inheritance (name and money) rights.
* Series/SosMiVida
* Series/SonDeFierro
* Series/PatitoFeo
* Series/VidasRobadas
* Series/{{Botineras}}
* Series/HerederosDeUnaVenganza
* Series/{{Valientes}}
* Series/LosExitososPells
* Series/{{Graduados}}
* Series/AmarEnTiemposRevueltos

* ''{{Loving}}''