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 soap opera for the final two years of its run, airing five days a week on Rai 1. In the early years of RTÉ, the network produced several dramas but had not come close to launching a long-running serial. RTÉ's first television soap was "Tolka Row", which was set in urban Dublin. For several years, both "Tolka Row" and "The Riordans" were produced by RTÉ; however, the urban soap was soon dropped in favor of the more popular rural soap opera "The Riordans", which premiered in 1965. Executives from Yorkshire Television visited during on-location shoots for "The Riordans" in the