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 feature scenes shot outdoors in each episode. This footage is shot on videotape on a purpose-built outdoor set that represents the community that the soap focuses on. In their early years "Coronation Street" and "Emmerdale" used 16 mm film for footage shot on location. Later soap operas "Hollyoaks" and "Family Affairs" were taped on high-definition video, and used the filmizing process. UK soap operas do not incorporate recap sequences at the beginning of each episode, which would be appropriate for the fact that when an episode ends, it picks up the story during the following episode. However, in 2012, "Hollyoaks"