History Main / SoapOpera

#Then there's the rise of cable networks and streaming options. In the past, the lower-tier of scripted television, which included soaps and Made-for-TV movies, was still pretty limited with only a few networks; even in the 90s, when cable TV was exploding, acting roles were still limited and you'd be lucky to get offered a soap role in order to get your foot in the door. An up-and-coming performer taking a role on a soap has to deal with limited pay and exposure, plus a challenging workload (soaps typically record around 70 pages of script a day, putting them much closer to stage acting than film or TV acting in terms of labor). These days, with 450-some primetime and streaming shows, rather than taking a three-week role as a nurse on ''General Hospital'' to 'break-in', or hanging around a daytime set looping through the same plot point for years, you can easily get better pay and exposure as a recurring character on a Creator/{{Netflix}} series, which would look better on a résumé, with more potential for creative clout. It's often speculated that talent [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor are more-easily sidelined or killed off]] on daytime than in primetime ([[Series/GreysAnatomy Shonda Rhimes]] notwithstanding!), because of the unusual norms of daytime casting.

A genre of storytelling [[OlderThanTelevision which began on radio in the United States in the early 1930's]], so named because its high drama was often interspersed with [[MerchandiseDriven adverts for, well, soap]]; Procter & Gamble, manufacturer of such products, was the sole sponsor and producer for many of them. But there's no '[[RadioDrama soap radio]]' anymore; with one exception (''Radio/TheArchers''), the genre is mainly-associated with television. For a long time in the U.S., you could actually be fired for referring to your show as a "soap opera"; the proper term was "daytime drama". It's no longer enforced, but referring to it as a soap in front of actors or crew will still occasionally earn you a dirty look.

#Then there's the rise of cable networks and streaming options. In the past, the lower-tier of scripted television, which included soaps and Made-for-TV movies, was still pretty limited with only a few networks; even in the 90s, when cable TV was exploding, acting roles were still limited and you'd be lucky to get offered a soap role in order to get your foot in the door. Now when you have 450-some primetime and streaming shows looking to cast, taking a three-week role as a nurse on ''General Hospital'' to 'break-in', or hanging around a daytime set looping through the same plot point for years, doesn't look as good on a resume when you can easily get better pay and exposure as a recurring character on a Creator/{{Netflix}} series, not to mention having more creative clout. It's often speculated that talent [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor are more-easily sidelined or killed off]] on daytime than in primetime ([[Series/GreysAnatomy Shonda Rhimes]] notwithstanding!).

* TheArtifact (popular legacy characters who are no longer part of the main storylines still show up once in a while, to [[PanderingToTheBase make the fans happy]])

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 will never admit it.[[note]] Coincidentally, ''Guiding Light'' and Creator/MarvelComics even had a crossover comic book made in 2006.[[/note]] ProfessionalWrestling has at times been called "Soap Operas for men."

* HalfSiblingAngst (soap opera characters tend to be far more likely to have half-siblings than real people)

A soap opera is a {{melodrama}} with a large cast experiencing dramatic emotional events in their day-to-day lives, usually broadcast five days a week. Many of the plots are about sexual relationships, family issues, and occasional topical issues. It is often set inside in domestic locations. American soaps tend to have wealthy, glamorous characters; British shows tend to have working-class characters. Designed to be viewed intermittently, so that a single event may be stretched over three or more days, with multiple narrative threads overlapping.

A soap opera is a {{melodrama}} with a large cast experiencing dramatic events in their day-to-day lives, usually broadcast five days a week. Designed to be viewed intermittently, so that a single event may be stretched over three or more days.

From the beginning it was viewed as a genre that mainly appealed to women. In fact, the entire genre was basically invented by one woman, Irna Phillips. Phillips created the UrExample (''Painted Dreams'' on WGN radio in Chicago in 1930), the GenrePopularizer and TropeCodifier (''Series/GuidingLight'') and was the key figure in the genre's transition from radio to television, creating the first daily daytime TV drama (''These Are My Children'' in 1949), helping ''Guiding Light'' transition to video, and creating two more genre staples in television: ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns'' and ''Series/AnotherWorld''. Soaps were ''very'' important in laying the groundwork for scripted television. It's even been argued that ''all'' TV dramas are ultimately descended from soaps.

* VerySpecialEpisode

A genre of storytelling [[OlderThanTelevision which began on radio in the United States in the early 1930's]], so named because its high drama was often interspersed with [[MerchandiseDriven adverts for, well, soap]]; Procter & Gamble, manufacturer of such products, was the sole sponsor and producer for many of them. But there's no '[[RadioDrama soap radio]]' anymore; with one exception (''Radio/TheArchers''), the genre is mainly-associated with television. For a long time in the U.S., you could actually be fired for referring to your show as a "soap opera"; the proper term was "daytime drama". It's no longer enforced, but referring to it as a soap in front of actors or crew will still occasionally earn you a dirty look. The genre made a successful jump from radio in the very early days of US network television; it's even been argued that ''all'' TV dramas are ultimately built around variations on the basic soap opera template.

-->--''Series/{{Friends}}'', "The One Where Doctor Ramoray Dies"

#The first is the rise of women in the workforce, brought on by a combination of the feminist movement and massive economic upheaval. When soaps began, women were still primarily housewives who would be home during daytime, which has long been the domain of soaps in America; meaning they had a potential audience of nearly half the American adult population. However, as more and more households became dual-income or "woman-primary" (i.e. a female is the main breadwinner, either because she's single or she earns a higher income than her partner), there simply isn't anybody home to watch. One potential sign of this is that the most-successful daytime soap currently airing is ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'' on CBS, which runs most often in a 12:30 PM Eastern/Pacific timeslot. People who work a typical 9-to-5 job will be able to tune in during their lunch break. The remaining big-hitters, ''Days of Our Lives'' (on NBC), ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful'' (on CBS) and ''Series/GeneralHospital'' (on ABC) air outside lunch hour in Eastern/Pacific time at 1:00, 1:30 and 2:00 PM respectively. To further prove the point, those shows air at 12:00, 12:30 and 1:00 PM in the Central and Mountain areas, allowing them to draw in lunchtime audiences there. ''Side note'': This is also why ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' is so popular among college students who are well-outside the target demographic: The 11 AM timeslot happens to occur during typical college lunch hours.

A genre of storytelling [[OlderThanTelevision which began on radio in the United States in the early 1930's]], so named because its high drama was often interspersed with [[MerchandiseDriven adverts for, well, soap]]; Procter & Gamble, manufacturer of such products, was the sole sponsor and producer for many of them. But there's no '[[RadioDrama soap radio]]' anymore; with one exception (''Radio/TheArchers''), the genre is mainly-associated with television. For a long time in the U.S., you could actually be fired for referring to your show as a "soap opera"; the proper term was "daytime drama". It's no longer enforced, but referring to it as a soap in front of actors or crew will still occasionally earn you a dirty look. The genre made a successful jump from radio in the very early days of US network television; it's even been argued that ''all'' TV dramas are built around variations on the basic soap opera template.

A genre of storytelling [[OlderThanTelevision which began on radio in the United States in the early 1930's]], so named because its high drama was often interspersed with [[MerchandiseDriven adverts for, well, soap]]; Procter & Gamble, manufacturer of such products, was the sole sponsor and producer for many of them. But there's no '[[RadioDrama soap radio]]' anymore; with one exception (''Radio/TheArchers''), the genre is mainly-associated with television. For a long time in the U.S., you could actually be fired for referring to your show as a "soap opera"; the proper term was "daytime drama". It's no longer enforced, but referring to it as a soap in front of actors or crew will still occasionally earn you a dirty look.

#The second is that the TV landscape in general has inverted in America. Hard to imagine now, but soap operas were traditionally allowed to be edgier, whereas UsefulNotes/{{prime time}} was staunchly conservative. Back in [[TheFifties the '50s]] and [[TheSixties early '60s]], ''Series/ILoveLucy''[='=]s Lucy and Ricky Ricardo weren't allowed to say the word "pregnant", and ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow''[='=]s Laura Petrie was criticized by MoralGuardians ...for wearing pants. As primetime TV has gotten raunchy, daytime TV has conversely become 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 TheEighties with the likes of Supercouple [[Series/GeneralHospital Luke and Laura]], but by that point, Prime Time was creating "family" shows with topical themes such as ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' and ''Series/TheGoldenGirls''; both sitcoms, and both dealing with hot-button issues such as HIV and domestic violence (to say nothing of TV dramas of the time), whereas soaps began to retreat into nostalgic Americana. In addition, the soap opera has become part of the DNA of television drama: Shows like ''Series/MelrosePlace'' or (more-recently) ''{{Series/Empire}}'' show that people still have an appetite for soaps, it's just that the mechanics of a serialized daytime show can't keep up with prime time, either in [[NoBudget budget]] or [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants writing.]]

* HeelFaceTurn

* AsYouKnow (basically a requirement to help the audience keep track of all the characters and storylines)

The main staples of soap storytelling are the {{Cliffhanger}}, not just from episode to episode, but each ''scene'' will usually end with one, and DramaticIrony--much of the suspense comes from the audience learning important information long before the characters do, and anticipating what happens when they ''do'' find out. Death is [[FirstLawOfResurrection not a big concern]] in the world of soaps; to the point that ''Series/{{Friends}},'' after Dr. Ramoray (Joey's character) had "his brain crushed" on ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'', joked that he could yet return -- [[BrainTransplant and he did]]. However, most shows enjoy ''[[TonightSomeoneDies pretending]]'' that anybody can be snuffed out at any moment – particularly during a commercial or episode break. The truth is that [[ActorLeavesCharacterDies contract re-negotiations]] are the leading cause of permanent death. Story progression often takes a backseat to what people actually want to see: {{Cat fight}}s and [[TheMasochismTango screaming matches]] and [[LoveDodecahedron every imaginable configuration]] of characters sleeping with each other. These habits are widely-mocked in other works whenever a soap appears or is mentioned. (For parodies of the soap genre, look up SoapWithinAShow.)