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 The Whore"), which premiered in October 2010 and CyBC's "Stin Akri Tu Paradisou" ("At The Heaven's Edge"), which premiered in 2007. The most successful weekdaily soap was "Aigia Fuxia", which aired on ANT1 Cyprus from 2008 to 2010. The only daily Finnish soap opera so far is "Salatut elämät" ("Secret Lives"), which has achieved popularity in Finland since its 1999 debut on MTV3. It focuses on the lives of people along the imaginary Pihlajakatu street in Helsinki. The show has also spawned several Internet spin-off series and a film based on the show that was released in 2012. Other soap-like