History Main / DaytimeDramaQueen

It's possible that this will become a ForgottenTrope in US in the next decade. While there were well over a dozen serials on daytime network TV in TheSeventies, the number dwindled to nine by 2007, and five of those have since been canceled (''Series/{{Passions}}'', ''Series/GuidingLight'', ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns'', ''Series/AllMyChildren'', and ''Series/OneLifeToLive''). Only ''Series/DaysOfOurLives,'' ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless,'' ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful,'' and ''Series/GeneralHospital'' remain, and ''Days of Our Lives'' moved from network to streaming-only in 2022, increasing speculation that the others might follow them or just end altogether. Of course, {{telenovela}}s still air outside the US, and are distributed through binge watching platforms like Youtube and Netflix, so the genre is unlikely to complete disappear.

The Daytime Drama Queen is a predominantly American trope. If you want to show a character as sad, pathetic, and in dire need of a life, show them watching and caring about the events of a SoapOpera. If an actual real-life soap opera is mentioned, it's usual a show like ''Series/GeneralHospital'', ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'', ''Series/AllMyChildren'', ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'' and ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful''--if it's not a real-life soap opera, then it's some kind of SoapWithinAShow.

* When a teacher's strike suspends school on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', lowlife bully Jimbo spends the extra time watching the soaps with his mom: "I just can't believe Starr would stoop to that...right in the middle of Montana and Dakota's wedding!"

* Chiun, Remo's Sinanju sensei in ''Film/RemoWilliams'', is addicted to his soap opera, considering it to be high culture, saying, "It concerns family, love, honor and courage, all that is noblest in the human spirit."

* Quite a few villains from ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' [[VillainsOutShopping are fans of soap operas]], particularly Shocker and Rhino.

It's possible that this trope will [[DeadHorseGenre die]] out in America and become a ForgottenTrope in the next decade. Five of the nine American daytime serials airing have been canceled since 2007 (''Series/{{Passions}}'', ''Series/GuidingLight'', ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns'', ''Series/AllMyChildren'', and ''Series/OneLifeToLive''). Only ''Series/DaysOfOurLives,'' ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless,'' ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful,'' and ''Series/GeneralHospital'' remain, and many say they're on their last legs anyway. Of course, with {{telenovela}}s still airing outside of the US, and are distributed through binge watching platforms like Youtube and Netflix, this would float on.

-->-- ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', "Real Me"

** Surprisingly, despite [[AdaptationPersonalityChange her characterization and]] [[RaceLift background being radically different]], Mamá Cabrera is ''still'' this in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017''; the only difference is that she watches [[Telenovela telenovelas]].

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-->'''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick:''' Gee Creator/RoaldDahl, it's almost like you hate television or something.

* In ''Film{{Joy|2015}}'', Terri is an agoraphobe who spends all day in her room watching soap operas.

The Daytime Drama Queen is a predominantly American trope. If you want to show a character as sad, pathetic and in dire need of a life, show him watching and caring about the events of a SoapOpera. If an actual real-life soap opera is mentioned, it's usual a show like ''Series/GeneralHospital'', ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'', ''Series/AllMyChildren'', ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'' and ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful''--if it's not a real-life soap opera, then it's some kind of SoapWithinAShow.

In Australia, this type of character does appear occasionally, but tends to be shown as addicted to American rather than Australian soaps due to their more over-the-top nature. In Latin America this type of character is virtually absent since soaps are, in most countries, pretty much the only kind of dramatic production locally produced; and given that in Hispanic culture soap operas are so far on the [[SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness serious side of the scale]] that they are SeriousBusiness, such a character would be seen as too aware for his own good, or a shot in the network's foot.

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** It's a ShoutOut to ''Series/YoSoyBettyLaFea'', the Colombian telenovela which ''Ugly Betty'' is based off of.
* Julius on ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris'' gets hooked on ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'' when he is at home from work with the gout. Once he returns to work, he tapes the episodes.

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* TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 showed Krang as a fan of a soap opera.

* In one episode of Series/{{Psych}} "Lights, camera, homicidio" we found out that pretty much everyone is a fan of a daytime drama, a telly novella called 'Explosion Gigantesca de Romance'. Shawn's the only one not addicted, and he ends up starring in it as 'Chad'.

The Daytime Drama Queen is a predominantly American trope. If you want to show a character as sad, pathetic and in dire need of a life, show him watching and caring about the events of a SoapOpera. The most popular soap to care about seems to be ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'', though a [[SoapWithinAShow fictional, parodic soap]] works just as well.

* Quite a few ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' [[VillainsOutShopping villains like soap operas]], particularly Shocker and Rhino.

* Creator/BruceLee was a [[RealMenWearPink huge fan]] of ''Series/GeneralHospital'' and known to get ''very'' cranky if he missed an episode.

* Averted with Spike on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' who was shown enjoying ''Series/{{Passions}}'' on several episodes and it was shown as something he genuinely enjoyed and appreciated, indicating he had liked it before becoming a pathetic, crypt-dweller. Since he's a vampire, daytime soaps may have been like late-night TV for him. Possibly.

It's possible that this trope will [[DeadHorseGenre die]] out in America and become a ForgottenTrope in the next decade. Five of the nine American daytime serials airing have been canceled since 2007 (''Series/{{Passions}}'', ''Series/GuidingLight'', ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns'', ''Series/AllMyChildren'', and ''Series/OneLifeToLive''). Only ''Series/DaysOfOurLives,'' ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless,'' ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful,'' and ''Series/GeneralHospital'' remain, and many say they're on their last legs anyway. Of course, with {{telenovelas}} still airing outside of the US, and are distributed through binge watching platforms like Youtube and Netflix, this would float on.

It's possible that this trope will [[DeadHorseGenre die]] out in America and become a ForgottenTrope in the next decade. Five of the nine American daytime serials airing have been canceled since 2007 (''Series/{{Passions}}'', ''Series/GuidingLight'', ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns'', ''Series/AllMyChildren'', and ''Series/OneLifeToLive''). Only ''Series/DaysOfOurLives,'' ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless,'' ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful,'' and ''Series/GeneralHospital'' remain, and many say they're on their last legs anyway.

* In [[Literature/LambTheGospelAccordingToBiff Lamb]], Biff is able to sneak away from the angel Raziel (yes, ''that'' angel Raziel) while Raziel is watching soaps in their hotel room.

In Britain, watching soaps is more acceptable, and since the better-quality soaps tend to be broadcast during UsefulNotes/{{primetime}}, daytime drama queens just don't show up so often on the European side of UsefulNotes/ThePond. On the other hand, they've now got an entire television channel (called "Dave") that fills nearly the same role, a fact regularly mocked on ''Series/TopGearUK'' and the various BBC PanelShows it repeats ''ad nauseam''. A closer British equivalent is to mock a character for watching daytime talk shows, such as Tricia or Jeremy Kyle, or daytime quiz shows like ''Series/{{Countdown}}''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Detentionaire}}'' after [[spoiler:he gets suspended for accidentally admitting he cheated on an assignment and subsequently grounded by his parents]], Cam becomes addicted to a {{telenovela}}. He later desperately tries to summarize said telenovela to the pizza boy in order to have ''some'' form of communication with the outside world.