A soap opera 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.
Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation, who operates the network through their Fox Entertainment division. Fox is headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan. It hosts additional offices at the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and at the Fox Media Center in Tempe, Arizona. The channel was launched by News Corporation in 1986 as a competitor to the Big Three television networks, which are the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Fox went on to become the most successful attempt at a fourth television network, and it was also the highest-rated free-to-air network in the 18–49 demographic from 2004 to 2012 and 2020 to 2021, and was the most-watched American television network in total viewership during the 2007–08 season. Fox does not have news or sports divisions, as those are separate channels operated by Fox Corporation.
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college. It ran for six seasons, from January 20, 1998, to May 14, 2003. The series starred James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery; Katie Holmes as his best friend and love interest, Joey Potter; Joshua Jackson as their friend Pacey Witter; and Michelle Williams as Jen Lindley, a New York City transplant to Capeside. The show was created by Kevin Williamson and premiered on The WB as a mid-season replacement. It was produced by Columbia TriStar Television and was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. The series ended on May 14, 2003. A total of 128 episodes were produced, spanning six seasons.
Melrose Place is an American prime-time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex in West Hollywood, California. The show was created by Darren Star for Fox and executive produced by Aaron Spelling for his company, Spelling Television. It was the second series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. Season one and season two were broadcast on Wednesday at 9 pm, after Beverly Hills, 90210. In 1994, for its third season and for the rest of its run, the show moved to Monday at 8 p.m.
The WB Television Network was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture amongst the Warner Bros. Entertainment division of Time Warner, the Tribune Broadcasting subsidiary of the Tribune Company, and Jamie Kellner, with the first acting as controlling partner. The network aired programs targeting teenagers and young adults between the ages of 13 and 35, while its children's division, Kids' WB, targeted children between the ages of 4 and 12.
KSL-TV is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Bonneville International, the for-profit broadcasting arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is sister to radio stations KSL and KSL-FM (102.7). The three stations share studios at the Broadcast House building in Salt Lake City's Triad Center; KSL-TV's transmitter is located on Farnsworth Peak in the Oquirrh Mountains, southwest of Salt Lake City. The station has a large network of broadcast translators that extend its over-the-air coverage throughout Utah, as well as portions of Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming.
George Coleman Eads III is an American actor, known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He later starred as Jack Dalton on the CBS action-adventure series MacGyver for three seasons.
One Tree Hill is an American drama television series created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on the WB. After the series' third season, the WB merged with UPN to form the CW, and from September 27, 2006, the series was broadcast by the CW in the United States until the end of its run on April 4, 2012. The show is set in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, and initially follows the lives of two half-brothers, played by Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty, who compete for positions on their school's basketball team and the drama that ensues from the brothers' respective romantic relationships.
Jamie Luner is an American actress. She is widely known for her roles as Cindy Lubbock on Just the Ten of Us (1988–1990), Peyton Richards on Savannah (1996–1997), Lexi Sterling on Melrose Place (1997–1999) and Rachel Burke on Profiler (1999–2000). More recently, she portrayed Liza Colby on All My Children (2009–2011) and Cassie Siletti on Murder in the First (2015–2016).
Paul Parsons Satterfield Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on daytime soap operas General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, and One Life to Live. He was also a regular cast member on the WB series Savannah.
48 Hours, known for a period of time as 48 Hours Mystery, is an American documentary news magazine television show broadcast on CBS. The show has been broadcast on the network since January 19, 1988 in the United States. The show airs Saturdays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, as part of the network's placeholder Crimetime Saturday block; as such, it is currently one of only two remaining first-run prime time shows airing Saturday nights on the major U.S. broadcast television networks. The show sometimes airs two-hour editions or two consecutive one-hour editions, depending on the subject involved or to serve as counterprogramming against other networks. Judy Tygard was named senior executive producer in January 2019, replacing Susan Zirinsky, who served as executive producer since 1996 until her early 2019 appointment as president of CBS News.
The Burning Zone is an American science fiction drama television series created by Coleman Luck that originally aired for one season on United Paramount Network (UPN) from September 3, 1996 to May 20, 1997. The series follows a government task force assigned to investigate chemical and biological threats. Initially, the program focused on the virologist Edward Marcase and Dr. Kimberly Shiroma. In January 1997, after the 11th episode, and in response to the show's low ratings, the characters Marcase and Shiroma were dropped from the series. Dr. Daniel Cassian became the lead character, and a new character, Dr. Brian Taft, joined the task force. The Burning Zone initially incorporated supernatural and religious elements, but shifted towards more action-oriented storylines.
Grosse Pointe is an American sitcom television series which aired on The WB from September 22, 2000, to February 18, 2001, during the 2000–2001 television season. Created by Darren Star, it was a satire depicting the behind-the-scenes drama on the set of a television show, and was inspired in large part by Star's experiences as the creator and producer of the nighttime soap Beverly Hills, 90210.
Swift Justice is an American detective drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Richard Albarino. It aired for one season on United Paramount Network (UPN) from March 13 to July 17, 1996. It follows former Navy SEAL Mac Swift, a private investigator who was fired from the New York City Police Department. He receives support from his former partner Detective Randall Patterson and his father Al Swift. Completed on a limited budget, episodes were filmed on location in New York.
Shannon Sturges is an American actress and acting coach, best known for her role as Reese Burton in The WB primetime soap opera Savannah.
The 1995–96 daytime network television schedule for the six major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers the weekday and weekend daytime hours from September 1995 to August 1996. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series canceled after the 1995–96 season.
The 2005–06 daytime network television schedule for the five major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States in operation during that television season covers the weekday daytime hours from September 2005 to August 2006. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series canceled after the 2004–05 season.
In 1995, Viacom and Chris-Craft Industries' United Television launched United Paramount Network (UPN) with Star Trek: Voyager as its flagship series, fulfilling Barry Diller's plan for a Paramount network from 25 years earlier. In 1999, Viacom bought out United Television's interests, and handed responsibility for the start-up network to the newly acquired CBS unit, which Viacom bought in 1999 – an ironic confluence of events as Paramount had once invested in CBS, and Viacom had once been the syndication arm of CBS as well. During this period the studio acquired some 30 television stations to support the UPN network as well acquiring and merging in the assets of Republic Pictures, Spelling Television and Viacom Television, almost doubling the size of the studio's television library.
The WB was an American broadcast television network operated as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. Entertainment division of Time Warner and the Tribune Broadcasting subsidiary of the Tribune Company. Launched on January 11, 1995, it was one of two networks developed by major film and television studios in late 1993—alongside the United Paramount Network —to compete with Fox and the longer established Big Three television networks.
John A. Litvack was an American television producer and media executive who was head of scheduling and programming for The WB Network and was an executive at CBS, NBC, MGM and Disney TV. He was called the "dean of current programming."
