A soap opera, or soap for short, is a typically 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.
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions.
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City. First broadcast on March 26, 1973, The Young and the Restless was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes, five times a week. The show expanded to one-hour episodes on February 4, 1980. In 2006, the series began airing previous episodes weeknights on SOAPnet until 2013, when it moved to TVGN. As of July 1, 2013, Pop still airs previous episodes on weeknights. The series is also syndicated internationally.
Guiding Light is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. Guiding Light aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio between January 25, 1937, and June 29, 1956. With 72 years of radio and television runs, Guiding Light is the longest running soap opera, ahead of General Hospital, and is the fifth-longest running program in all of broadcast history; only the American country music radio program Grand Ole Opry, the BBC religious program The Daily Service (1928), the CBS religious program Music and the Spoken Word (1929), and the Norwegian children's radio program Lørdagsbarnetimen (1924–2010) have been on the air longer.
Three's Company is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom Man About the House.
Port Charles is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series General Hospital, which has been running since 1963 and takes place in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York. The show features longtime General Hospital characters Lucy Coe, Kevin Collins, Scott Baldwin, and Karen Wexler, along with several new characters, most of whom were interns in a competitive medical school program. In its later years, the program shifted more towards supernatural themes and stories, with a reduced emphasis on the original hospital setting.
General Hospital is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after Guiding Light. Concurrently, it is the world's third longest-running scripted drama series in production after British serials The Archers and Coronation Street, as well as the world's second-longest-running televised soap opera still in production. General Hospital premiered on the ABC television network on April 1, 1963. General Hospital is the longest-running serial produced in Hollywood, and the longest-running entertainment program in ABC television history. It holds the record for most Daytime Emmy Awards for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, with 14 wins.
Pamela K. Long is an American writer and executive producer. Long won several Emmys for her work on CBS soap opera Guiding Light from 1983 to 1990. She was also writer and executive producer on the NBC film Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors.
Strange Paradise is a Canadian occult-supernatural soap opera of 195 episodes, initially launched in syndication in the United States on September 8, 1969, and later broadcast on CBC Television from October 20, 1969, to July 22, 1970. The production was the brainchild of producer Steve Krantz, in an attempt to capitalize on the phenomenal success of ABC's daytime serial Dark Shadows. To develop the series, Krantz hired actor-writer Ian Martin and veteran TV and radio producer Jerry Layton, both of whom were given screen credit for the creation of Strange Paradise. With the CBC and American broadcasters Metromedia and Kaiser Broadcasting handling distribution and co-production, the series was filmed in Ottawa, Ontario, at CTV affiliate CJOH-TV and aired for 39 weeks, presenting three separate 13-week story arcs.
The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, also known as portable single camera, is a method of filmmaking and video production.
A television show – or simply TV show – is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set which is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, This includes content made by television broadcasters and content made for broadcasting by film production companies. It excludes breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed between shows. Television shows are most often scheduled for broadcast well ahead of time and appear on electronic guides or other TV listings, but streaming services often make them available for viewing anytime. The content in a television show is produced by one of two production methodologies, live taped shows such as variety and news magazine shows shot on a television studio stage or sporting events The other production model includes animation and the variety of film productions ranging from movies to series. Shows not produced on a television studio stage are usually contracted or licensed to be made by appropriate production companies.
Degrassi Goes Hollywood is a 2009 Canadian film adaptation of the popular, long-running teenage drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. The movie premiered in the United States on The N on 14 August 2009, and in Canada on CTV on 30 August 2009. It was directed by veteran Degrassi actor-director, Stefan Brogren. Degrassi Goes Hollywood is the first feature-length movie of the Next Generation cast, and the second feature-length film in the Degrassi franchise, the first being 1992's School's Out in which Brogren co-starred. Degrassi Goes Hollywood is the first in-continuity Degrassi production recorded and set principally outside of Canada. For syndication purposes, the film has been shown as a four-part episode titled "Paradise City".
The eleventh season of Degrassi, a Canadian serial teen drama television series, premiered on July 18, 2011, concluded on May 18, 2012, and consists of 45 episodes. Although only three school years have passed in the story timeline since season six, part one of season eleven is set in the final term of the Spring semester, while part two is set in the fall semester to the first term of the winter semester in the years it aired. Writers have been able to use a semi-floating timeline, so that the issues depicted are modern for their viewers. The first half of this season again depicts the lives of a group of high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors while the second half of this season depicts the lives of a group of high school freshmen, juniors, and seniors as they deal with some of the challenges and issues that teenagers face such as gang violence, parenthood, transphobia, homosexuality, drug use, dysfunctional families, mental disorders, adoption, organ transplantation, crime, bulimia, alcoholism, sex, drug abuse, and murder.
Days of Our Lives is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television network NBC from 1965 to 2022, is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday since November 8, 1965. A co-production of Corday Productions and Sony Pictures Television, the series was created by husband-and-wife team Ted Corday and Betty Corday. During Days of Our Lives' early years, Irna Phillips served as a story editor for the program and many of the show's earliest storylines were written by William J. Bell, who would depart the series in 1975 to focus full-time on The Young and the Restless, which he created for CBS in 1973. Following the 2007 cancellation of Passions, Days of Our Lives remained the only soap opera airing on NBC. On August 3, 2022, NBCUniversal announced that it would relocate the series exclusively to its Peacock streaming service beginning September 12 after 57 years on the network and leaving NBC as the only Big Three network without a daytime serial.
Kevin Kelton is an American television writer and producer whose credits include Saturday Night Live, Night Court, Boy Meets World and other network series. He has also written articles and essays for National Lampoon. Kelton is the younger brother of the comedian Bobby Kelton, who appeared regularly on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson during the 1970s and 1980s. Kevin now teaches TV and Film writing for the UCLA Extension Writers' Program.
Witt/Thomas Productions is an American television and movie production company run by TV producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas. The company was consistently productive between its founding in 1973 and 1999, but is still active, producing an occasional film or TV series project. It has produced more than 25 American primetime television series, mostly half-hour sitcoms. Witt/Thomas is perhaps best known for producing the popular sitcoms Soap, Benson, It's a Living, The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Blossom, and Brotherly Love. Witt and Thomas have also produced many cinematic works, including the 1989 box-office success Dead Poets Society.
The thirteenth season of Degrassi, a Canadian serial teen drama television series, premiered on July 11, 2013, concluded on July 29, 2014 in Canada and the United States, and consists of 40 episodes. Although only four school years have passed in the story timeline since season six, this season was split into 3 parts. The first part is set in the summer. The second part is set in the fall/winter semester. The third and final part is set during the first term of the Spring semester. Writers have been able to use a semi-floating timeline, so that the issues depicted are modern for their viewers. This season depicts the lives of a group of high school Freshmen, sophomores, seniors and graduates as they deal with some of the challenges and issues that teenagers face such as cancer, texting while driving, death, sexism, sleep disorders, cyber bullying, domestic violence, rape, racial profiling and relationships.
Gippie's Kingdom (GK) is the first Bahamian television soap opera.
Winterthorne is a soap opera web series that premiered on August 27, 2015. Starring Martha Madison as Miranda Winterthorne, the ruthless matriarch of a candy dynasty, the series was created, written and executive produced by Michael Caruso. Caruso previously created the web soap DeVanity, which ran from 2011 to 2014.
The Bay is American crime-drama series. The show streams on Peacock in the United States, 10 Play in Australia, SABC in South Africa and Planet TV in Europe.
