Proposed Soaps Over The Years

[John]

Now that's interesting

[John]

According to Jamey Giddens at DC latest podcast ABC was developing new daily soaps until Port Charles was canceled in 2003. At that that point focus shifted to talk, reality & lifestyle programs.

[frequentsoapfan]

A hollywood daytime soap opera would be a good idea now. It would have to premiere during the summer though in like June. But I could see a soap opera about the Hollywood lifestyle revolving around a tv producer, and actress, music mogal, a model and their families

[Khan]

Even better, B&B could acknowledge they're in L.A. and expand the frigging canvas to include aspects of the entertainment industry. (It's still a mystery to me how Brad Bell has not had even one Forrester tempted to work as a costume designer for movies and television. Hell, man,even Tom Ford got into the business as a writer and director!)

[John]

I think there will be new daily soaps but they may follow the telenovela format of 3-6 months than a new one is born

[Paul Raven]

From Variety November 66

NBC recently made a commitment with Hanna-Barbera for a live action ( with animation) series based on Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn," and Talent Associates is understood to have interested the same network in thedaytime serialization of such novels as "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights."

That would have been an interesting concept - sort of a telenovela ased on classic novels.Apart from Dark Shadows,the networks shied away from anything that strayed too far from the conventional format.

[John]

That could have been cool

[Paul Raven]

1966

Griffin Productions,which at the time was producing Jeopardy for NBC daytime was expanding its efforts with several proposed shows including soaps entitled 'Keep it In The Family' described as the adventures of 'a real family' and 'Best Things in Life', dealing with 4 American girls working abroad.The latter would be shot in Europe

[DRW50]

That would have been a good soap (the one about the girls in Europe).

[Paul Raven]

1983

CBS has 'Forever Moore' in development with PolyGram as a daytime serial.

[Paul Raven]

ABC announced amongst its midseason pilots for the 85/86 season a primetime drama titled 'Daytime' about the behind the scenes goings on a soap opera.

[wingwalker]

When AMC and OLTL got axed last year, I came across an article from the BBC, Mal Young a former producer for British Soaps Brookside and EastEnders said he was developing a prime time soap for the US that focused more on real people, real issues, a "Coronation Street or EastEnders set in small town America".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13140622

[John]

A soap about the inner workings of Daytime drama or something like SMASH or Melrose Place would work great as a daytime drama/

[John]

Claire Labine made numerous pitches to SoapNET when it began in 2000, as the cabler was looking to eventually produce its own daily soaps. One of the pitches was an updated version of Ryan's Hope due to the Original's success in reruns on SN. However none of Labine's ideas made it past pitch stage.

[DRW50]

That's a shame.