History Main / SoapOpera

#Another theory cites two specific events in the late '80s and early '90s as the reasons why audiences started tuning out: [[UsefulNotes/TVStrikes the 1988 WGA strike]] and the UsefulNotes/OJSimpson trial (see also ''Film/OJMadeInAmerica''). The former caused soaps to run without experienced writers, leading to a sharp decline in quality, and coverage of the latter not only knocked the soaps off the air for several weeks, but provided viewers with a real-life drama to enjoy, thanks largely to the media circus caused by Judge Lance Ito allowing cameras into his courtroom. Declining viewership caused the networks to put less effort into their daytime shows, creating a vicious cycle of sinking quality and ratings. To top it off, shortly before the first "legacy" soap was cancelled, there was another WGA strike (in 2007-08).

#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 brief 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.]]

Although soaps originated in the U.S., the genre there has undergone a severe decline to the point that media analysts have declared it [[DeadHorseGenre effectively dead]]. During the transition to TheNewTens, four of the longest running and most successful soaps in history reached their finales: ''Guiding Light'' (still the longest continuous narrative in human history, even in 2022) was cancelled in 2009 after 72 years; ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns'' ended in 2010 after 54 years; ''Series/AllMyChildren'' ended in 2011 and ''Series/OneLifeToLive'' ended in 2012, both having run for over 40 years. Those were the first casualties, but not the last. There are several popular, somewhat interconnecting theories as to why soaps have declined in North America:

A genre of storytelling [[OlderThanTelevision which began on radio in the United States in the early 1930s]], it got its name 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.

A genre of storytelling [[OlderThanTelevision which began on radio in the United States in the early 1930's]], it got its name 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.

->'''Joey:''' Well, I get the medical award for separating the Siamese twins. Then Amber and I go to Venezuela to meet our other half-brother, Ramone. And that's where I find the world's biggest emerald. It's really big--but it's ''cursed.''

Many in the industry predicted that, while the soap opera will live on in American TV, the last of the classic daytime serials could be off the air by 2015... a prophecy which didn't come to pass. However, it is true that by then, only four 'prestige' soaps remained: ''General Hospital'', ''Days of Our Lives'', ''The Young and the Restless'', and ''Bold and the Beautiful'' – down from 19 in 1969 and 12 as recently as 1990. [=SOAPNet=], the one cable network dedicated to the genre and where most of the programs repeat, was removed from many cable systems in early 2012 to be replaced by Disney Junior, which was used as an excuse by ABC's daytime chief to kill ''All My Children'' and ''One Life to Live''.[[note]]Although many soap fans feel that the truth is that then-ABC daytime chief Brian Frons, who had a history of cancelling soaps dating back to the series ''Santa Barbara'', as well as firing veteran cast members without warning, had a vendetta against fans for rejecting his vision of what the ABC soaps should be: Namely an emphasis on gratuitous sex and violence over storytelling.[[/note]] In 2022, NBC announced that ''Days of Our Lives'' would move exclusively to the Creator/{{Peacock}} platform, meaning that for the first time since 1949, NBC would have ''zero'' soaps airing terrestrially. This move led to speculation that the other three soaps might similarly migrate to streaming-only, but 2024 saw what might be signs of a network soap resurgence, with ABC announcing that ''General Hospital'' would stay on the network for the foreseeable future, and a surprise announcement from CBS that they'd be developing the first new network soap in a quarter-century (the last one being ''Series/{{Passions}}'' in 1999), called ''The Gates'', which "follows the lives of a wealthy Black family in a posh, gated community," in cooperation with the unlikely alliance of Procter & Gamble and the NAACP.

* SoapWithinAShow

On a country-by-country basis, the main difference is the social class of people being portrayed: American soaps often featured [[CastFullOfRichPeople filthy-rich characters with chic clothing and gorgeous mansions]] (think ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' or ''Series/Dynasty1981''). Australian ones usually feature [[MonochromeCasting middle-class suburban white people]], often young and healthy (''Series/{{Neighbours}}'', ''Sons and Daughters'', ''Series/HomeAndAway''); while British soaps are either lower-middle class (''Series/{{Brookside}}'') or grimly and grimily working-class (''Series/EastEnders'', ''Series/CoronationStreet''). These class divides are not 100% certain but tend to dominate; see Creator/TheBBC's aspirationally-luxurious ''Series/Howards Way'', which ran for several years, but never won the hearts of viewers like [[KitchenSinkDrama "kitchen sink"]] soaps did. The feature common to all three flavours is that there is no one main character: Rather, characters drift in and out of [[CharacterFocus focus]] as the storylines go on. Some characters may be more memorable or have more influence on TheVerse than others, but [[EnsembleCast nobody can be said to be the protagonist]]. (See also: SoapWheel.)

On a country-by-country basis, the main difference is the social class of people being portrayed: American soaps often featured [[CastFullOfRichPeople filthy-rich characters with chic clothing and gorgeous mansions]] (think ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' or ''Series/Dynasty1981''). Australian ones usually feature [[MonochromeCasting middle-class suburban white people]], often young and healthy (''Series/{{Neighbours}}'', ''Sons and Daughters'', ''Series/HomeAndAway''); while British soaps are either lower-middle class (''Series/{{Brookside}}'') or grimly and grimily working-class (''Series/EastEnders'', ''Series/CoronationStreet''). These class divides are not 100% certain but tend to dominate; see Creator/TheBBC's aspirationally-luxurious ''Howard's Way'', which ran for several years, but never won the hearts of viewers like [[KitchenSinkDrama "kitchen sink"]] soaps did. The feature common to all three flavours is that there is no one main character: Rather, characters drift in and out of [[CharacterFocus focus]] as the storylines go on. Some characters may be more memorable or have more influence on TheVerse than others, but [[EnsembleCast nobody can be said to be the protagonist]]. (See also: SoapWheel.)

Many in the industry predicted that, while the soap opera will live on in American TV, the last of the classic daytime serials could be off the air by 2015… a prophecy which didn't come to pass. However, it is true that by then, only four 'prestige' soaps remained: ''General Hospital'', ''Days of Our Lives'', ''The Young and the Restless'', and ''Bold and the Beautiful'' – down from 19 in 1969 and 12 as recently as 1990. [=SOAPNet=], the one cable network dedicated to the genre and where most of the programs repeat, was removed from many cable systems in early 2012 to be replaced by Disney Junior, which was used as an excuse by ABC's daytime chief to kill ''All My Children'' and ''One Life to Live''.[[note]]Although many soap fans feel that the truth is that then-ABC daytime chief Brian Frons, who had a history of cancelling soaps dating back to the series ''Santa Barbara'', as well as firing veteran cast members without warning, had a vendetta against fans for rejecting his vision of what the ABC soaps should be: Namely an emphasis on gratuitous sex and violence over storytelling.[[/note]] In 2022, NBC announced that ''Days of Our Lives'' would move exclusively to the Creator/{{Peacock}} platform, meaning that for the first time since 1949, NBC would have ''zero'' soaps airing terrestrially. This move has led to speculation that the other three soaps might similarly migrate to streaming-only, but nothing has been announced as of yet.