Soap opera Soap opera A soap opera is an ongoing drama serial on television or radio, featuring the lives of many characters and their emotional relationships. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas being sponsored by soap manufacturers. BBC Radio's "The Archers", first broadcast in 1950, is the world’s longest-running radio soap opera; the world's longest-running television soap opera is "Coronation Street", first broadcast on ITV in 1960. The first serial considered to be a "soap opera" was "Painted Dreams", which debuted on October 20, 1930 on Chicago radio station WGN. Early radio series such as "Painted Dreams" were broadcast in
Soap opera any soap in Europe outside of the United Kingdom. The highest-rated soap opera is "Thuis", which has aired on "één" since late 1995. "Thuis" is often one of the five most-watched Belgian shows and regularly garners over one million viewers (with 6.3 million Flemmings in total). During the 1990s, foreign soap operas such as "Neighbours" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" were extremely popular, the latter having achieved a cult status in Belgium and airing in the middle of the decade during prime time. Both soaps still air today, along with other foreign soaps such as "Days of Our Lives",