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 Shoots, He Scores"), "Loving Friends and Perfect Couples" and "The City". The "Degrassi" franchise of youth dramas also incorporated some elements of the soap opera format. On French-language television in Quebec, the "téléroman" has been a popular mainstay of network programming since the 1950s. Notable téléromans have included "Rue des Pignons", "Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut", "Diva", "La famille Plouffe", and the soap opera parody "Le Cœur a ses raisons". Unlike the season based production in most countries, most of Indian television fiction tends to be regular-broadcasting soap opera. These started in the late 1990s, as more and