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 Young Doctors" (from 1982), "Sons and Daughters" (from 1983), "A Country Practice" (from 1982), "Richmond Hill" (from 1988 to 1989) and eventually, "Neighbours" was acquired by the BBC in 1986, and "Home and Away" aired on ITV beginning in 1989. These achieved significant levels of popularity; "Neighbours" and "Home and Away" were moved to early-evening slots, helping begin the UK soap opera boom in the late 1980s. The day Channel 4 began operations in 1982 it launched its own soap, the Liverpool-based "Brookside", which would redefine soaps over the next decade. The focus of "Brookside" was different from earlier