Soaps often air every day, leading to frantic production schedules

Soaps often rely on cliffhangers, along with many other tropes

The shows are written to encourage viewers to tune in for the next episode, so they often withhold resolutions for as long as possible. This has become a recognizable trait, or a trope, for the genre. Much like other narrative genres, soap operas intentionally embrace tropes rather than avoid them.

Soap operas are long-form, serialized melodramas

The genre was historically aimed at housewives, and its storylines often involve romantic entanglements and family dynamics that transpired over many years. Media scholar Robert J. Thompson called the soap opera “arguably the most unique contribution that broadcasting has made to the art of storytelling.”

The show follows a frantic production schedule

The show is pitched, written, and designed in a week. Tuesdays feature infamously long writing sessions that usually stretch into Wednesday mornings. Fridays include shooting for digital shorts and an initial run-through of live material. Before Saturday's live show, there's an extended dress rehearsal.

Some say soaps have been replaced by reality TV

Reality shows have much in common with soaps: massive melodrama, sweeping music cues, neverending plotlines, and a seemingly endless number of episodes. Some communications scholars suggest that’s why younger viewers are no longer interested in soap operas; reality programs provide the same content with the added appeal of being “real.”

The adoption of modern appliances led to the soap opera's rise

Soaps grew more popular as they transitioned to television in the 1950s. At the same time, the adoption of modern appliances like the automatic dishwasher and the clothes dryer offered housewives more free time, which soaps could now occupy. By 1970, CBS, NBC, and ABC were airing 18 daytime soaps.

Soap operas earned their name thanks to the sponsorships of soap brands

Many early 20th-century radio programs for women were sponsored by brands that introduced each new episode. Because these dramas were aimed at women, many of their sponsors were for household products, like soap. The association led some to refer to the shows as "soap operas," a title that stuck.

How soap operas are being reimagined for the smartphone

Apps like ReelShort, FlickReels, and DramaBox purport to offer "micro dramas," but they strongly resemble soap operas, with serial melodramas about romance and murder. This NPR piece unpacks the trend, highlighting why this new format appeals to demographics that never connected with daytime soaps.

Soap operas are significantly less popular now than in past decades, though that might be due to a genre classification problem rather than declining viewership.

The OJ Simpson case interrupted soaps’ daytime dominance, changing the genre

OJ Simpson's 1995 murder trial was broadcast for months, bumping soap operas from the airwaves. Fittingly, the trial provided the same salacious story lines, compelling characters, and open-ended narratives that soaps offered viewers. The key difference, of course, was that the Simpson trial was real life.

Soaps launched the careers of countless Hollywood A-listers

Soap operas may not be considered high culture, but many actors who would go on to win television and film’s highest honors got their start with soaps. That includes Julianne Moore (“As the World Turns”), Morgan Freeman (“Another World”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“Santa Barbara”), and Michael B. Jordan (“All My Children”).

Telenovelas are Latin American takes on the soap opera

Telenovelas share much with American soap operas, with storylines about romantic affairs, deceitful family members, and vengeful villains. However, the key difference is that they are confined to 120 to 180 episodes, while a traditional soap opera is written as an open-ended narrative, allowing it to go on for decades.

'These Are My Children' was TV's first soap

The Irna Phillips production featured many of the same themes as radio soaps. The key difference was that the low-paid actors now no longer had scripts in front of them, leading to some wooden performances and flubbed lines. Reviews at the time were rather negative, highlighting the melodramatic plots and overly expository dialogue. The show ran for less than two months.

Soap operas were especially popular in the '70s and '80s

Shows like "As the World Turns" and "Love of Life" attracted tens of millions of viewers and had many high-profile fans, including Andy Warhol, Sammy Davis Jr. and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. This Time cover story from 1976 explores the pop culture phenomenon.

HBO Max's 'The Pitt' has found success with an old-school, broadcast-TV production model that harkens back to weekly dramas that mostly disappeared during the streaming era.

The first nationally broadcast soap opera was 'Clara, Lu, 'n Em'

The show first aired in Chicago in 1930, but was then picked up by NBC and broadcast across the country in 1931. The show followed three women who lived in the same duplex. Listen to a 1934 episode below, including the preshow's soap-centric advertising.

2 'Simpsons' producers break down the show's turning points

Longtime director David Silverman and showrunner Matt Selman walk you through some of the show's biggest turning points, from the early days on "The Tracey Ullman Show" through its biggest guest stars and eerily accurate predictions.

Before it became the home of 24-hour prestige TV, HBO used to sign off each night.

‘Twin Peaks’ was David Lynch’s ode to the soap opera

In the 1980s, David Lynch was primarily known as the director of art films like “Eraserhead” and “Blue Velvet.” But “Twin Peaks,” his primetime ABC show with writer Mark Frost, was a take on the soap opera, leaning into the genre’s tropes: stilted dialogue, affairs, missing person, and melodrama.

‘SNL’ sketches often follow a uniform structure

Sketch comedy relies on pacing, with scripts that hit certain beats. "SNL" often greenlights sketches that lean into a particular formula that features two "turns," or unexpected events that disrupt the "base reality" of the story.

Irna Phillips is the ‘the queen of the soaps’

She was responsible for “Painted Dreams,” the first radio soap, as well as “These Are My Children,” the first to appear on television. Later, she launched the shows “Guiding Light,” “As the World Turns,” and “Another World.”

Broadway employs tens of thousands of people in various roles

While we often just think of the actors and directors who take top billing, Broadway productions operate as distinct businesses employing numerous people in various roles: stage managers, sound designers, house managers, ushers and more.

Many shows close without earning a profit

Broadway is a tough market, and a show closing early is relatively common, especially in the winter: Between December 2024 and February 2025, 17 shows closed. It's more than just low ticket sales: Broadway shows face a number of hurdles to success, including stop clauses and bad reviews.

Breaking down what makes HBO different

The network took an early gamble on longer episodes and more complicated narratives than a standard television drama. That paid off and, in the process, created what we now consider "prestige TV."

David Simon on writing for TV

Few people have done more to define HBO—and American television—than David Simon, creator and writer for “The Wire,” “Treme,” “Show Me a Hero,” and other shows. In this interview, Simon explains how he approaches a script and what he believes TV writers should aim to do beyond entertainment.

In recent years, Netflix has shifted away from scripted originals toward low-cost reality programming.

Desi Arnaz devised the three-camera method for sitcoms

Early television shows were filmed with a single camera capturing multiple takes from numerous angles, making for an arduous filming process that sucked the energy from comedies filmed in front of live studio audiences. Arnaz proposed a three-camera setup that allowed the show to be filmed like a play, which soon become an industry standard.

Telenovelas evolved alongside technology

Like soap operas, telenovelas began as radio programs and then transitioned to television as the medium became widely available in Latin American countries.

One man provides temporary vocals for nearly every character on 'The Simpsons'

Early in the production process, voice actor Chris Edgerly voices hundreds of characters so animators can create preliminary sketches. In this interview, he explains how he learned to mimic the characters' unique voice and tics.

HBO is known for its adventurous original series

The premium network is known for groundbreaking shows like “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “The Wire,” “Game of Thrones,” Succession,” and more. Unlike traditional broadcast television, HBO shows were not bound by strict time limits, advertising, or FCC regulations, allowing for more creative freedom.

‘Oz’ was cable’s first hour-long drama

When the dark prison story debuted in 1997, it was HBO’s only drama and followed a principle that would come to define the network’s shows for decades: “‘I don’t care if they’re likable as long as they’re interesting,’” show creator Tom Fontana told Vice. “That was my mantra.”

The history of soap and how it forms bathtub scum and white spots in old oil paintings

Soap has been produced since at least 2,200 BCE via a chemical reaction between fats or oils and a base. This creates salts that act as molecular bridges, helping water lift dirt and grease from surfaces. The same chemistry produces scum when metals in hard water bind to soap molecules, as well as white spots in paintings when metal ions in pigments react with fatty acids in the oil binder.

In television and film, certain sounds, such as dialogue, may be difficult to understand due to sound mixing, device limitations, and technological advancements that have collectively reduced clarity.

The complex production machine behind Eurovision

This short Wall Street Journal documentary goes behind the scenes at Eurovision to show how the elaborate stage show—which features a production manager, speedy run crews, and a digital floor outlining the location of every prop for every performance—hums along so smoothly.

Astronauts follow strict schedules to mimic Earth days and stay healthy in space

Experiencing 15 sunrises and sunsets a day while aboard the International Space Station, visitors preserve their circadian rhythms and mental health with fixed timetables. Astronauts have described sleep as living in a vacuum cleaner due to ongoing air filtration.

When bleach comes into contact with oily skin, it forms soap—the combination of an alkaline, non-acidic substance with a fat.

Ramadan is a major television event in the Middle East

Each year, major networks air special 30-episode dramas timed to the month—one episode per night after iftar. Syrian productions long dominated the format, though that has shifted. The season is the advertising event of the year across the Middle East, rivaling the Super Bowl in commercial intensity.

Professional wrestling may be scripted, but it's not 'fake'

At its core, pro wrestling offers viewers an entertaining spectacle that may be scripted but is far from being “fake.” The athletes who compete in the WWE and other organizations still complete impressive feats of strength and put their bodies on the line every time they step in the ring.

Opera faces many economic problems today

Opera is a notably expensive art form, and therefore currently struggling to survive economically. Pandemic losses, reduced government funding, and dwindling ticket sales all pose a threat to its continuation. According to a recent survey, about half of the UK wouldn't feel impacted if all opera houses were shut down.

'The Sopranos' is often seen as the start of 'prestige television'

HBO’s The Sopranos followed New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano as he struggled to balance his violent criminal life with his personal and family issues. Its blend of crime drama, pitch-perfect comedy, and intergenerational family dynamics made for a complex show not easily reduced to typical genre tags.

Is streaming the new novel?

Ever since the rise of “prestige television” in the early 2000s, critics and viewers alike have argued that TV has replaced the novel by becoming the most significant storytelling medium, citing the cultural importance of shows like “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” and “Succession.” This essay notes that streaming has strengthened that argument, turning episodes into chapters, and explains why this has been bad for storytelling in both forms.

‘Guiding Light’ was the longest-running scripted drama in broadcast history

The show ran for 72 years, starting as a radio program in 1937, and eventually transitioning to television in 1952. Along the way, it launched several Hollywood stars, like Kevin Bacon, James Earl Jones, and Christopher Walken. CBS canceled the show in 2009.

HBO Max's 'The Pitt' aims to be the most accurate representation of medicine on TV by using real doctors as consultants.

10 books that get the theatre world right

The theatre world is filled with drama—both on and offstage—thanks to big egos, imagined slights, and tense interpersonal dynamics. Despite that reality, it's not easy to portray what goes on behind the scenes on the page. This list breaks down some of the exceptions, featuring 10 novels that accurately capture the insular world and fascinating personalities who populate it.

A 1981 wedding on 'General Hospital' drew 30 million viewers.

Operas can be serious, comedic, or both

Opera is a complex art form that includes a range of genres. The most commonly presented types are opera seria, opera buffa, opera semiseria, opéra comique, and grand opéra. Each genre varies in its philosophy and approach, with differences in subject matter, tone, and display.

The best cult TV shows

Before the streaming era, television shows lived and died by their weekly ratings. That led to early cancellations for several well-regarded shows, like "Freaks and Geeks," "Party Down," and "Veronica Mars." Thanks to DVD boxsets and streaming, the shows often became cult classics long after they were taken off the air.

Making an opera is expensive and requires many people to reach the stage

Bringing an opera to the stage is a detailed, demanding, and costly process. Following the lead ​​of Phillip Glass’s “Akhnaten” before its performance at the Metropolitan Opera House in Manhattan, this Vox video displays the rehearsals, vocal lessons, intricate costumes, and even juggling involved in putting on a show.

The 'second screen' effect has realigned the writing for Netflix's original shows

As more subscribers put Netflix on in the background, the company has encouraged more expositional dialogue in its original scripts. Filmmaker Justine Bateman claims the streamer doesn't "want anything on your show to distract [viewers] from their primary screen."

Learn about the history of soapbox speeches in the United States

From the 1890s to the 1960s, soapbox oratory was common across the US, with speakers gathering crowds in public spaces to share political, religious, and philosophical views.

Opera seria and opera buffa differ in their tones and themes

Opera began in the late 1590s with "Dafne" and evolved into two styles by the 18th century. Opera seria catered to elites with heroic, mythological themes, while opera buffa brought humor and relatable stories to wider audiences. Today, modern opera often tackles contemporary social issues.