These beloved dramas got their start on the radio back in the 1930s amidst the Great Depression. Many of the first soaps were sponsored or produced by bath giants such as Proctor & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and Lever Brothers, which is how they got their peculiar nickname. This genre transitioned from the radio waves to daytime television back in the 1950s, with many of the programs making the jump directly. For example, CBS’s Guiding Light, the world’s longest-running TV show, was broadcast through radio and television for 72 years!
Tragically, this era officially came to an era two years ago when CBS decided to cancel their last remaining soap opera, As the World Turns, after a 54-year run on television. Believe it or not, it takes about $50 million per year to produce one of these programs - and dwindling viewership and ratings for shows gradually caused shows such as As the World Turns and Guiding Light to cost studios more than they were worth. As this April, only four of these serial dramas remain on television - General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Days of Our Lives - which is a far cry from the 17 soaps broadcast back in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
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