#Soap opera network channel series#
#Soap opera network channel tv#

#Soap opera network channel tv#

Days of Our Lives is one of the longest-running soap operas in TV history. Well, here’s the actual show that started it all. Looking back, the popular sitcom Friends would have been incomplete without Joey’s stint as Dr. Days of Our Lives (53 years and counting)

#Soap opera network channel series#

Set in Oakdale, Ill., the series focused on the Hughes, Snyder and Walsh families, wherein members struggle to do the right thing as they follow their hearts. As the World Turns was about a middle-class family against a wealthy, yet troubled family. It moved at the pace of life itself, while making the story slow yet emotionally intense. This show is more reality-based compared with other soaps, and the first soap opera to use a two-family setup. It was the most-watched daytime drama from 1958 to 1978. The ratings picked up in the 1957, and eventually reached the top spot for daytime Nielsen ratings by fall of 1958. Before this series was launched, all serials had been 15 minutes in length, and As the World Turns was one of the first 30-minute shows to premiere on TV.

It ran for 54 years on CBS, and when it ended in 2010, it was the second-longest running show in American history. As the World Turns (54 years)Īs the World Turns was created earlier than General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, as it debuted on 1956. It rose to the top of the ratings since the late ‘70s to early ‘80s due to the popular supercouple Luke and Laura, who sparked the trend of the soap opera super couple.

Since the late 1970’s, most storylines focused on the Quartermaines and the Spencers. The show is filled with medical drama, mob wars and love and desire.

General Hospital is originally set in a general hospital (hence the title), in fictional town of Port Charles, New York. Launched on 1963 and still running up to this day, this series holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-running American soap opera in production and the second-longest running drama in American TV. It has become the oldest American soap opera as of 2010, after the final broadcast of As The World Turns and Guiding Light. Named as the “Greatest Soap Opera of all Time” by TV Guide, General Hospital has won the most Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. But clone Reva turned out to be evil and attempted to take Reva’s place. One of the most bizarre storylines of the show involved cloning the character Reva Lewis from one of her own frozen eggs, and once the clone was born, she was given an aging serum so she wouldn’t age fast. Later on, it focused on the life, love and challenges of other families in Springfield, such as the Spauldings, Coopers, Lewises and Chamberlains. The Guiding Light was set on a fictional Midwest town of Springfield, and first revolved around the middle-class Bauer family. Guiding Light holds the record for the longest-running, non-news show in American TV history. It lasted for 57 years on TV, but had an astounding runtime of 72 years if you count its radio run. This soap opera transitioned to television by 1952, but was taken off air in 2009 due to low ratings after broadcasting a total of 15,762 episodes. (The title of the show is very fitting for this, don’t you think?) It was initially started as a radio broadcast in 1937, and ran until 1956 on NBC Radio. The mother of all soap operas, “Guiding Light” set the stage for soap operas around the world. Here are some of America’s longest-running daytime soaps: 1. It’s hard to imagine how much creativity and dedication it needs to provide captivating storylines and incredible characters to keep the drama interesting for so long. But running for a couple of decades or more? It’s got to be legendary. But there are other great shows that lasted long, like The Simpsons, which has been on air for 29 years.įor any daytime soap opera, lasting for more than 10 years is impressive. There are some great shows that are remembered for being outstanding, most only lasted for a couple of years, like Breaking Bad (which lasted for 5 seasons) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (which aired for 6 seasons). While some TV shows come to an end, others just seem to go on forever.