Women's Media Nation | Social, political, and cultural issues relating to women

Daytime television? Still for chicks?

posted by ChickSpeak
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 4:23pm CDT

There used to be a time when the most popular thing to do was to watch soap operas. teens would rush home after school to watch Dark Shadows. Character names topped parents’ lists of potential baby names. Dorm rooms were packed with students waiting to find out if General Hospital’s Luke and Laura would be together forever.

Many popular actors, actresses and musical artists are counted as daytime television alumni. Desperate Housewives’ Eva Longoria, Melrose Place’s Colin Egglesfield, singers Rick Springfield and Ricky Martin, and Fergie’s husband Josh Duhamel can all credit the genre as their starting point.

In 1981, 30 million viewers tuned in to watch General Hospital’s Luke and Laura tie the knot, according to an ABC News article. Marc Berman, a TV critic at Mediaweek, credits General Hospital and the wedding itself as helping to create the present trend of serialized drama we now find in primetime.

“Today, we’ve really seen the soap-ification of prime time TV,” he said in the ABC News article. “Shows like Grey’s Anatomy, The O.C., The Sopranos, they’re all modern versions of soap operas, and in many ways, General Hospital paved the way in the early ’80s, when they added younger stars, hipper storylines and better production. And it all culminated with that big wedding.”

Despite their influence on the entertainment industry, many soap operas are struggling to stay afloat. In recent years, daytime television has taken some hard hits. The cancellation of the CBS soap Guiding Light last year stands out as the most significant one.

Like any other genre, shows have come and gone. Since I started tuning in regularly to One Life To Live in 2001, ABC’s Port Charles and NBC’s Passions were both cancelled due to low ratings. In fact, most soaps are having a tough time pulling in ratings. In a report posted on Soap Opera Network, the average number of viewers each soap pulls in is only around 2.5 million, with The Young and the Restless peaking at close to 5 million.

However, Guiding Light’s cancellation is different in that it held the title as the longest-running soap opera and as the longest-running television show in history. The show started its 72 year-run as a 15-minute radio serial in 1937 and made the leap to television in 1952. Many touted this as the end of the genre, and, with the cancellation news of CBS’ As the World Turns and the Disney network SoapNet, which airs soap opera episodes at night and on the weekend, in the past few months, it seems as though the days of daytime television are numbered.

Yet, while cancellations seem to be happening left and right and ratings seem to slip lower and lower, there are a few glimmers of hope. Two of ABC’s soaps have been in the headlines for their socially relevant storylines. Back in March, One Life To Live took home the GLADD Media Award for its love story between two gay men. General Hospital made headlines with its gut-wrenching portrayal of dating abuse, teaming up with Love Is Respect to do a PSA.

General Hospital made additional headlines with the 2009 addition of popular screen actor James Franco as creepy artist/psycho killer Franco. Franco is set to reprise the role this year. Following suit, The Young and the Restless has brought back David Hasselhoff to reprise the role that launched his career.

With so many mixed signals, only time will tell if soap operas will be able to survive the next five years. However, Mediaweek’s Berman still believes they and their signature format will continue to have a place.

“It’s interesting that soaps — one of the oldest forms of TV — translate so well into the new medias,” Berman said to ABC News. “Nobody is predicting the end of the soap opera today.”

Shannon Kirk is a senior at DeSales University in Center Valley, Penna. She remains a self-proclaimed soap opera fan and is holding out hope Jason-Shane Scott will reprise his One Life To Live role as Will Rappaport. He remains her ultimate television crush.