Soaps in the 2010s: Best/Worst and Predictions for 2020s

[Faulkner]

This decade began with the cancellation of perhaps the greatest soap of all time (ATWT), followed by the end of Agnes Nixon’s groundbreaking creations—AMC and OLTL—on ABC. (As we know, they were later briefly revived online to acclaim, only to die due to mismanagement once again.)

 

While we’ve gone the rest of the decade without another cancellation, no one would say that the four remaining soaps are anywhere near their best, with declining budgets affecting everything from rehearsal time to actor guarantees to sets and camerawork. While the cable and streaming landscapes offer more choices than ever—and more outlets for diverse voices and performers—soaps have become ever more conservative, relying on age-old plot conventions, doubling down on heteronormative whiteness, and catering to a literally dying audience, with a growing recognition that they have no hope of capturing young generations. This isn’t a soap problem; all of TV (and frankly most types of legacy media, from newspapers to radio) is dealing with this existential threat. Who knows what the 2020s will bring?

 

That said, was there anything you liked about the soaps in the 2010s? I didn’t watch much of the AMC and OLTL revivals on Hulu, but I know @Vee and others really loved them. Some praise must go to DAYS for (in relative terms) doing a lot with so little. Even with its much talked-about constraints, it is regularly far more compelling than the other three shows. And they introduced us to Christopher Sean (Paul), who, at least initially, was such a refreshingly vibrant and sexy new presence for daytime IMO. And the return of Eileen Davidson as Kristen was THE soap comeback of the decade.

 

To me, the most disappointing soap was Y&R. The dismantling that began in the 2000s continued in haste in the 2010s. It was like a Red Wedding-style slaughter, with a stream of incompetents and assassins taking turns shivving it in the belly.

 

Plus: any predictions for where the Final Four will go in the 2020s? Will they see the 2030s?

[soapfan770]

The best things of the 2010's? 

 

Karma finally caught up and struck Christopher Goutman, Les Moonves, JFP, Barbara Bloom, Frons, McDaniel, and some others as their careers were forever ruined by their own decisions and were all fired. 

 

Decent periods for the soaps? I'd say 2011-2015 B&B, 2013 for Days, and late 2012- late 2014 and the first half of 2017 for Y&R. 

 

Worst? 

 

Days: 2011-2012, 2015-present, with the nadir definitely being Chase raping Ciara

B&B: Everything since the fall of 2016 has been horrible with each year bringing in a new low. 

Y&R: This decade started out by Death by volcano! I'd say Mal's era was third worst after Latham and MAB&Co.

 

That said, we haven't had a soap dip below a 1.0 yet have we? 

[Faulkner]

Yeah, I like how you divided the soaps up by period. No show is capable of sustaining even relatively short periods of quality, so everything has felt a bit topsy-turvy. To me, the peaks of DAYS felt superior to those of the other three, which is why I rated it higher even though it too had awful stretches.

[All My Shadows]

AMC was good/decent/watchable/entertaining for its last year and a half on ABC, as far as I'm concerned. The revival was also good in its own ways. OLTL's revival was also decent in the beginning (I didn't watch most of it, so I can't comment on the series as a whole).

I tried many, many, many times in the last 8 years to watch the remaining four, and I just can't. Daytime's dead, and the 2020s will be the end of it. It'll be nice if at least one of the shows makes it to 2030 so that the genre proper can end during its centennial.

[dragonflies]

IMO I think Days is the little soap that could and might just outlast GH which I don't think has more than maybe 2 or 3 years left

[AbcNbc247]

Sadly, I don't think any of the four remaining soaps are going to make it to the 2030s, even though I would love for all of them to make it. 

 

There were just so many circumstances (shrinking budgets, arrogant/interfering network execs. and producers, online streaming, social media mobs, etc.) that have been building up for years that spelt disaster for soaps, and it seemed like they all came together in one big perfect storm in the 2010s. For the 2020s, IMO, there just needs to be less interference, from all sides. Production, on all soaps, needs to stop letting social media or one or two arrogant actors or producers dictate what happens on the shows.

 

I do agree that DAYS, although in terms of quality has always been a roller coaster ride, has been the best of the four over the course of the 2010s. GH got stuck in a serious rut this year, even I fast forwarded some of it during the spring, summer and fall. But I think it's finally starting to get back on track. What they need to do in 2020 is shake everything up completely for as many characters as they can and everything is in place for them to do just that.

 

 

[kalbir]

Key dates for the 2020s.

 

Monday April 27, 2020: Days will surpass As the World Turns and become the third longest running daytime drama on US network television.

Monday June 22, 2020: General Hospital will surpass Guiding Light and become the longest running daytime drama on US network television.

Monday November 9, 2020: Days will mark 55 years on the air (as November 8, 2020 is a Sunday).

Wednesday March 23, 2022: If B&B is still on, this date will mark 35 years on the air.

Monday May 16, 2022: If B&B is still on, it will have had a longer run than Another World on US network television.

Monday July 18, 2022: If B&B is still on, it will have had a longer run than Search for Tomorrow on US network television. B&B surpassed Search for Tomorrow's CBS run on Monday October 16, 2017.

Monday January 30, 2023: If Days is still on, it will have had a longer run than Guiding Light on US network television.

Monday March 27, 2023: If Y&R is still on, this date will mark 50 years on the air (as March 26, 2023 is a Sunday).

Monday April 3, 2023: If General Hospital is still on, this date will mark 60 years on the air (as April 1, 2023 is a Saturday).

Monday November 10, 2025: If Days is still on, this date will mark 60 years on the air (as November 8, 2025 is a Saturday).

Tuesday March 23, 2027: If B&B is still on, this date will mark 40 years on the air.

Monday September 13, 2027: If Y&R is still on, it will have had a longer run than As the World Turns on US network television.

Monday March 27, 2028: If Y&R is still on, this date will mark 55 years on the air (as March 26, 2028 is a Sunday).

Monday April 3, 2028: If General Hospital is still on, this date will mark 65 years on the air (as April 1, 2028 is a Saturday).

Monday December 11, 2028: If B&B is still on, it will have had a longer run than All My Children on US network television.

 

[titan1978]

The best of the 2010’s for me were stories like Will coming out, and host subsequent relationships.  While I do t always love him with Sonny, we have gotten to see Sami Brady’s son kiss several men on this show, and have plenty of story.  When I was a teen in the 1990’s, I would have killed to see this on a show.

 

GH- the first two years of Ron brought me back to the show.  It was sometimes messy, but overall those were some great times compared to now.  Plus people I loved came back- Anna, Faison, Lucy, AJ, Felicia, Laura, etc.  Sonny was the star of his own stories but not the center of the show anymore.  Robin reuniting with her family was the last time I felt a show had a long term story idea and played out lots of beats to delay the payoff.  It was because KM wasn’t ready to come back, but it worked to build the payoff.

 

DAYS- I loved everything with Nick, what a waste to kill him off.  Seeing Julie more was also welcome.  I also loved EJ, and even though she had eaten the show alive, I miss Sami.  I can’t imagine DAYS in this decade without them.

 

I thought the gothic storyline with Adam and Sally Kellerman on Y&R had so much potential.  But like most things, soaps these days do not know how to change course to capitalize on something good.

The bad- The writing on all these shows has declined so much.  Also- all four of them were on an upswing during  the GH 50th year.  Ratings were up to highs of the previous decade for several of them.  And each one of them fell apart.

The worst of the worst-

 

Putting JFP in charge of another show.  Her time is long since done.

 

How the people at Y&R squandered Mishael Morgan I will never know.  Idiots.

 

Also- how have these shows not recovered from their greatest mistakes of the past 20 years?  Stop forcing new characters (or recasts!) down our throats.  Josh Griffin’s biggest sin for me is that he does this every time he is a HW.  Too much Adam.  Too much Chelsea.  Balance.  Let your vets support your newbies.

 

As far as the 2020’s?  I just don’t know.  I think if these shows are all on in 5 years it will be a miracle.  Stop being afraid of being a soap opera.  I want big emotions, high stakes, relationships and every generation present in the storytelling.  And for the last time- diversity.  For people that complain about this- there are not enough of our white old time fan eyes watching to keep them going.  

[Faulkner]

For a great/bittersweet moment that came out of tragedy, Y&R’s cast tribute this year to Kristoff St. John was extraordinary and one of the best and most thoughtful things I watched on any soap this decade or longer. Sad that it took the untimely death of a beloved soap veteran for it to happen. 

[kalbir]

Y&R had two big losses this decade with the passings of Kristoff St. John and Jeanne Cooper. Both of their tribute episodes were done well.

[Khan]

It breaks my heart to say it, but I don't see any of the four, remaining soaps surviving on the networks into the 2030s.  Now, whether that means they'll transition into web-only shows or just disappear forever, I don't know.  (I think B&B and DAYS have the best chances of making that transition.  Y&R might be able to transition to online-only as well.  GH, though, is done once ABC cancels it.)  As far as their network runs are concerned, however, I think TPTB will finally hit upon an alternative to soaps that will allow them to retain the airtime at a very low cost.

 

Kelly Clarkson's new talk show seems to be doing well with viewers and critics; so, IMO, that's probably this genre's death knell.

 

 

Nope.  Not a damn thing.

[DaytimeFan]

The soap that had the best of the 2010s was DAYS. It is the little soap that could, can, and does. 

 

Somehow, DAYS has not lost its identity. Inexplicably, so much of the DNA of DAYS remains and the other remaining soaps cannot say the same. 

 

I have a hard time believing any of the Final Four will be on the air in 2030. For the sake of the actors, I hope they're saving their money and planning for the end. 

[Chris B]

For me personally, I felt this was the decade hope was lost and I gave up. There have been bright periods on all four soaps, but nothing is sustainable. There is no excitement to the writing anymore and it feels like it’ll stay that way. You look at head of their time moments like Passions, AMC and OLTL getting a second life and despite all doing well in their new homes it didn’t last nor did it lead to more soaps streaming or on cable. It mostly hurt with AMC and OLTL which I feel would’ve been huge had they been given more time. 
 

Right now when I watch older soaps or even older episodes of current soaps it shocks me how tame they are now. The sex scenes, the storylines, the issues the characters face, etc. Nothing is realistic anymore. It’s all watered down. You don’t have good rivalries, good villains. Everything is just very tepid. Now my standards are so low I watch when I can but I don’t consider any of the current soaps good. 
 

I also watch a British soap called Hollyoaks and that’s considered to be the teeny bopper soap in the UK, but even it is far and away ahead of US soaps. You have gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, black, Asian characters as well as old and young characters and people with disabilities. Despite  a large cast, stories are rotated and everybody has a purpose. On the Us soaps they also have large casts, but there’s no rotation so many are wasted. The lack of diversity in comparison makes it hard to consider any of the US soaps to truly be good. Not to mention the stories. 
 

Based on ratings and their success streaming I feel all four US soaps could be amazing, but the people in charge no longer care so it is what it is. Now should be when they take most chances, but they’re retreating. Nobody is even taking advantage of their large libraries of soaps which could easily be streamed. It’s just shameful for all three networks. 

[Vee]

I don't have investment in the future of American daytime because daytime has no investment. It's a zombie now. They had their chance to revolutionize (online) and largely shunned it.

 

GH had some good stuff from 2012-2015 - FV and RC saved that show that first year with a mix of wild/bad camp and genuinely good stuff, and had many highs and lows before crashing completely. But only AMC 2.0 and OLTL 1.0 and 2.0 fully mattered to me in the 2010s. 

 

AMC 2.0 was the best American soap opera of the 2010s, and it only ran about five months seven years ago. OLTL 2.0, close second. That says it all.

[KMan101]

GH: I agree that despite what some say, 2012-2013 were messy but entertaining and sometimes good. I've rewatched a bit recently and while I still roll my eyes and get mad over lost potential and stupid decisions, it was basically a love letter to the fans. Messy as hell and not always accurate, but still. I remember how we all kind of cheesed on the Nurse's Ball but I'd take Grandpa Frisco and Rick Springfiefld singing again anyday. 

 

DAYS: Like GH, 2013 was a mostly good year for DAYS. It really fell to [!@#$%^&*] in 2014. I mean, badly fell to [!@#$%^&*]. Just collapsed. The show's on fumes but Ron tries. There's too much interference and he needs a Sheri type back with him to balance some things out. The show just feels chopped up and messy.

 

2010 saw the loss of Alice Horton and we had a pretty great month long memorial to her as Hortons and others came back into town. Yet like none of them stayed. None

of them returned. Sigh. This was the time to rebuild.

 

2011-2012 - MarDar. Lots of lost potential. They too suffered from interference. Will always love them for shafting Daniel Jonas, but then we got Egg Baby under them, no? Or was that Higley? Or Tomsell. 2014-2016 really run badly together.

 

I don't know if I even want to finish. You know what I see: MISSED POTENTIAL on every single soap. 

 

And so many of you have hit the nail on the head why soaps have been on a downhill slide since 1995-1997 (they have, even if they had some good/great years between now and then).

 

EDIT: I loved AMC 2.0 and OLTL 2.0 I remain furious to this day it didn't work out. LOL. It was a dream come true. Half hour. Online. So much potential. AMC will be 50 years old in a few days. 

 

I'm so frustrated by our inability to "move forward". How's that worked out?

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