1 hour ago, Aback said:

I echo what Maxim has said upthread. 
The soaps are dead - creatively. 
Gone are the days when they would push the envelope with what could be said and shown on television. 
If they keep coasting their existence, well I’ll liken that to the rise of conservatism because there’s nothing more conservative these days than US soaps. 

About this, Patrick Mulcahey said,"What we do now isn't nearly as vital or fresh or interesting as what we were doing eighteen, even twenty-five years ago. Soaps then were powerful, raw, shocking — we did anything and everything. What we do now is so timid and constrained. I understand it."— Patrick Mulcahey

On 7/25/2025 at 6:03 PM, AbcNbc247 said:

After 7 1/2 years of Ron Carlivati, 4 of which where he had Jamey Giddens at his side, we can get through anything 👍😂😂

WOW, it seems like SO much longer!!! 

For the sake of conversation, let's assume for moment that soap operas are on the upswing, and become at least moderately profitable again.  It seems that in 2025, outdoor shooting has become relatively affordable for daytime dramas. So today, the expensive part is not the shooting itself, but finding outdoor locations to use consistently and often enough to be believable and authentic to the audience.  Here's a question: would it ever be possible for an American soap opera to have a series of permanent outdoor sets, similar to a few British soaps, such as Eastenders??  I know DOOL tried this for a while with Salem Place Mall, but it lasted only a few years.  And Guiding Light shot for a couple of years in Peapack. But to a large degree, GL was just asking for permission to shoot outside people's businesses and homes, and identifying those structures as the boarding-house/Company, the Bauer house, the Spaulding house, etc., etc., etc. (I am aware GL purchased or leased at least one house that could be shot from several angles, and used as the exterior for more than one home)  But there is no permanence with that format because at any time, a home owner or business owner could have (and eventually would have) said, "You can't use my home (or business) in your show anymore -- we're done!"  So I'm assuming for outdoor sets to be "permanent" they'd need to be on a studio back-lot, or at least on property owned by either the studio or by the production company.   So could an Eastenders type of permanent outdoor set(s) ever be affordable or possible for an American daytime soap?   And again, I don't mean temporarily -- but permanently, from episode #1 until the series' final episode.  

On 7/27/2025 at 1:27 PM, Aback said:

I echo what Maxim has said upthread. 
The soaps are dead - creatively. 
Gone are the days when they would push the envelope with what could be said and shown on television. 
If they keep coasting their existence, well I’ll liken that to the rise of conservatism because there’s nothing more conservative these days than US soaps. 

Same.

On 7/25/2025 at 8:08 AM, Maxim said:

Again... the biggest fear for me is that lack of creativity and writing talent will degrade the genre into something vile and stupid, where it will start completely losing it's appeal till one day it's a parody of the golden era and people don't even remember what it used to be. 

That's just my 2 cents. 

 

On 7/25/2025 at 10:12 AM, I Am A Swede said:

Honestly I'm not sure we're not there already, or at the very least very near to that point.

I think we've been there for a long time now - 20-25 years or more. There are still scraps of quality, but it's mostly loyalty and familiarity which have kept the remaining soaps on. I do think with less network pressure than past years, there's a chance for newer writers to come through, but it hasn't really happened yet. And the tools which were in place for a long time to help newer talent find its way into daytime have been dismantled. 

On 7/25/2025 at 2:15 PM, te. said:

If the AMC movies actually happen, I think it's far more likely a test balloon to see if they can put it back to series somehow. It's like how Peacock clearly toyed with Beyond Salem before pulling the trigger to move Days entirely to streaming. 

With the prime time attempt and then the Lifetime movies, it's obvious ABC sees some value in the brand but are unsure how to proceed forward with it. 

I don't think they will want to put out the money for a regular series. It does seem like they want some plan but aren't sure where to go. The primetime attempt would have failed. I think 2-3 TV-movies a year could work, if they just make the effort.

On 7/27/2025 at 2:27 PM, Aback said:

I echo what Maxim has said upthread. 
The soaps are dead - creatively. 
Gone are the days when they would push the envelope with what could be said and shown on television. 
If they keep coasting their existence, well I’ll liken that to the rise of conservatism because there’s nothing more conservative these days than US soaps. 

Those days have been gone for a very long time. The last may have been the coming out stories for Bianca on AMC and Luke on ATWT. There are moments now that seem daring, but in any sane country, wouldn't, like BtG having a majority black cast, or the soaps having a few gay characters.

Soaps were ahead of their time in adapting to conservatism, as they began around the mid-90s. That may be what keeps them alive...although I think it's mostly just apathy and also attempts to replace them failing. The best to hope for is they will not just cancel everything to save a few bucks and turn the timeslots over to affiliates for more Sinclair news propaganda, like what's happening to late night.

4 hours ago, Tisy-Lish said:

For the sake of conversation, let's assume for moment that soap operas are on the upswing, and become at least moderately profitable again.  It seems that in 2025, outdoor shooting has become relatively affordable for daytime dramas. So today, the expensive part is not the shooting itself, but finding outdoor locations to use consistently and often enough to be believable and authentic to the audience.  Here's a question: would it ever be possible for an American soap opera to have a series of permanent outdoor sets, similar to a few British soaps, such as Eastenders??  I know DOOL tried this for a while with Salem Place Mall, but it lasted only a few years.  And Guiding Light shot for a couple of years in Peapack. But to a large degree, GL was just asking for permission to shoot outside people's businesses and homes, and identifying those structures as the boarding-house/Company, the Bauer house, the Spaulding house, etc., etc., etc. (I am aware GL purchased or leased at least one house that could be shot from several angles, and used as the exterior for more than one home)  But there is no permanence with that format because at any time, a home owner or business owner could have (and eventually would have) said, "You can't use my home (or business) in your show anymore -- we're done!"  So I'm assuming for outdoor sets to be "permanent" they'd need to be on a studio back-lot, or at least on property owned by either the studio or by the production company.   So could an Eastenders type of permanent outdoor set(s) ever be affordable or possible for an American daytime soap?   And again, I don't mean temporarily -- but permanently, from episode #1 until the series' final episode.  

Well that would be great.  But soap studios are normally small and urban with no back lots or large property.  So sadly I think your proposal is not likely to come to fruition.   

7 hours ago, Tisy-Lish said:

I know DOOL tried this for a while with Salem Place Mall, but it lasted only a few years.

Salem Place lasted over a decade, didn't it? That "construction" started across the street was the initial excuse why they ditched it, but I think it became a parking lot eventually. Either way, I think Salem Place was actually very efficient in using the space. Everyone who visited it when it existed have said that it was much much smaller than it looked on tv. 

I think if any of the current soaps have a shot at doing a backlot location it's Beyond the Gates since they've already used space outside the studio. I think the weather / seasons in Atlanta might be an issue though. 

I think one of the problems with the current soaps is that a lot of those involved have the 80's/90's  soaps as their experience/reference point.

So their vision of what a soap is involves far out plots, back from the dead, big business etc

That's not how soaps played earlier on with character based domestic stories.

With the shrunken budgets, it would make sense to return to the roots and and once again focus on intimate relationship stories,

Instead of pale imitations of the big budget years,

As for location shooting, Neighbours had decades long permission to film in a particular suburban street to represent Ramsey St. I'm assuming if you bought in that street you would have to agree to filming taking place.

Don't know they could enforce it.

4 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

I think one of the problems with the current soaps is that a lot of those involved have the 80's/90's  soaps as their experience/reference point.

So their vision of what a soap is involves far out plots, back from the dead, big business etc

That's not how soaps played earlier on with character based domestic stories.

With the shrunken budgets, it would make sense to return to the roots and and once again focus on intimate relationship stories,

Instead of pale imitations of the big budget years,

This is very true. It's also why I really wish we had more half hour or even fifteen-minute soaps where character work and quieter moments are key. 

(I know that isn't true for B&B, but B&B has always been its own creature)

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

This is very true. It's also why I really wish we had more half hour or even fifteen-minute soaps where character work and quieter moments are key. 

(I know that isn't true for B&B, but B&B has always been its own creature)

I agree. I almost hope that if there is a new soap in the future (after BTG) - it's half hour. 

3 minutes ago, Maxim said:

I agree. I almost hope that if there is a new soap in the future (after BTG) - it's half hour. 

I believe that is not likely. The situation with ad revenue is such that hour long soaps are, I believe, slightly more than twice as profitable as half hour is. You might not think that a little bit more would make a big difference, but it does seem to.

And half hour I think would only be seen as experimental & not be taken seriously at all.

Half hour could happen if we're talking about a soap developed for streaming exclusively. 

Just now, te. said:

Half hour could happen if we're talking about a soap developed for streaming exclusively. 

Which is... the future basically.