A soap opera, daytime drama, or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by "horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.
NewsRadio is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995, to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Stephen Root, Andy Dick, Maura Tierney, Vicki Lewis, Joe Rogan, Khandi Alexander, and Phil Hartman in his final regular role before his death in 1998; Jon Lovitz joined the show after Hartman's death.
Ryan McNeil is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. Created by William J. Bell, the character was portrayed by Scott Reeves, who made his first appearance on June 26, 1991, as a businessman who wanted to "work his way to the top of the corporation ladder". The character gained popularity upon his relationship with Victoria Newman, which initially received criticism due to the characters' age gap. He was also involved with Nina Webster and the insane Tricia Dennison.
Bonnie Bartlett Daniels is a retired American actress. Her career spans seven decades, with her first major role being on a 1950s daytime drama, Love of Life. Bartlett is known for her role as Grace Snider Edwards on the Michael Landon television series Little House on the Prairie and as Ellen Craig on the medical drama series St. Elsewhere. Her husband, actor William Daniels, played her fictional husband Dr. Mark Craig, and they both won Emmy Awards on the same night in 1986—becoming the first married couple to accomplish the feat since Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in 1965.
Todd Grimshaw is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, formerly played by Bruno Langley from 2001 to 2017, and now played by Gareth Pierce. The character's debut was broadcast on 14 January 2001. He was introduced as part of the Grimshaw family, formed around the established character Eileen Grimshaw.
Stacey Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Lacey Turner. She first appears in episode 2826, originally broadcast on 1 November 2004. The character is introduced as a feisty and troublesome teenager and extension to the already established Slater family. She was created by scriptwriter Tony Jordan with Turner in mind. Producers explored the character's backstory with the introduction of her mother, Jean Slater, who has bipolar disorder. They then paired Stacey with Bradley Branning and writers developed a series of problems for their marriage, including an abortion and Stacey's scandalous affair with Bradley's father, Max Branning.
Vanessa Fisk is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is married to the crime boss the Kingpin and is the mother of Richard Fisk, although she herself is not portrayed as a villain, and does not approve of her husband's criminal activities. Vanessa has been featured in a number of stories about the Kingpin, usually in those revolving around the superheroes Daredevil and Spider-Man.
Zainab Khan is a character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nina Wadia. She made her first appearance on 16 July 2007. Zainab is the mother of Syed, Shabnam, Tamwar and Kamil Masood. She is the wife of Masood Ahmed, who divorces her, and of Yusef Khan, who she remarries after a divorce decades earlier, and who abuses her. Wadia quit her role in 2012 and departed the series in the episode shown on 8 February 2013.
The second season of the American dramedy-mystery television series Desperate Housewives commenced airing in the United States on September 25, 2005, and concluded on May 21, 2006. The season continues the story of the Wisteria Lane residents, while their seemingly perfect lives in the suburban neighborhood are shaken by the arrival of the mysterious Betty Applewhite. Broadcast in the Sunday night time slot at 9.00 ET, the season aired twenty-four regular episodes, including a two-part season finale. In addition, three clip shows were produced for the season, in order to put the previous events of the show in perspective. "All the Juicy Details" aired before the eleventh episode, detailing the most memorable events of the season's first half, whereas "The More You Know, The Juicier It Gets", which aired before the twentieth episode, prepared the viewers for the highly anticipated season finale. "Time to Come Clean" aired three weeks before the inception of the third season, and reviewed the previous mysteries of the series before introducing the new story lines. The second season had fourteen roles receiving star billing, out of whom eleven were part of the first season's main cast. The main story lines of the season were Susan Mayer's relationship with her former husband, Gabrielle Solis' upcoming motherhood, Lynette Scavo's return to work and the death of Bree Van de Kamp's husband.
Claire Underwood is a fictional character in House of Cards, played by Robin Wright. She is the wife of the show's protagonist Frank Underwood and the main protagonist in the final season. She is a lobbyist and runs an environmental nonprofit organization, but in later seasons ascends to the positions of Second Lady of the United States, First Lady of the United States, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Vice President of the United States, and finally the 47th President of the United States. Claire made her first appearance in the series' pilot episode, "Chapter 1". The character is based on Elizabeth Urquhart, a character from the eponymous British miniseries from which the current series is derived. Unlike the original character, however, Claire has her own storylines.
Unreal is an American drama television series that premiered on Lifetime on June 1, 2015. It stars Shiri Appleby as a young reality television producer pushed by her unscrupulous boss to swallow her integrity and do anything it takes to drum up salacious content for their dating reality show Everlasting. The show was created by Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, and was inspired by Shapiro's award-winning independent short film Sequin Raze.
Dream Girl – Ek Ladki Deewani Si is an Indian television drama show, which premiered on Life OK. The show was produced by Shashi Mittal and Sumeet Mittal, under Shashi Sumeet Mittal Productions. It starred Shraddha Arya and Nikita Dutta, Mohsin Khan and Sudeep Sahir, Kunal Verma and Khalid Siddiqui. The show went off air on 4 March 2016
Uzalo is a South African soap opera produced by Stained Glass Productions, which is co-owned by Kobedi "Pepsi" Pokane and Gugu Zuma-Ncube. It began airing in 2015, quickly becoming a hit due to its compelling narrative, writing, direction and the performances of the relatively-unknown cast. It initially told the story of two young men who were switched at birth, one being raised in a family with core Christian values and the other at a crime syndicate. It currently broadcasts from Monday to Friday on SABC 1. It is currently the most watched television show in South Africa.
World of Winx is an Italian Flash animated television series and a spin-off of Winx Club. The series was created by Iginio Straffi. Twenty-six episodes were produced in two seasons, the first of which was premiered as a Netflix original series on 4 November 2016.
The Queen is a South African telenovela that premiered on Mzansi Magic on 1 August 2016 and on Canal Plus in April 2020. It is produced by Ferguson Films, owned by acting veterans Connie Ferguson and her late husband Shona Ferguson. The Queen ran at a 260 episode per season and aired every Monday to Friday at 21h00 on Mzansi Magic.
Josephine "Jo" Alice Wilson, formerly Brooke Stadler, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States.
Zikhona Sodlaka is a South African actress best known for her starring roles in television series such as Shooting Stars, Rhythm City, Soul City, Intsika and Montana. Sodlaka once got nominated for the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTA).
Durban Gen was a South African medical drama telenovela. It was an e.tv original production that was commissioned and distributed by e.tv. The show was based in Durban and reflected on the struggles of the doctors and nurses in their daily lives at Durban General Hospital. The show was produced by Stained Glass TV Productions.
